CHUGOKU / SHIKOKU
Onomichi
Travel journal from Onomichi, with 16 notes on the places I ate, the dishes I cooked and the sights: Cinema Onomichi, The former Yamato-yu bathhouse, Onomichi Hondori Shopping Street, Neko no Hosomichi (the Cat Alley).
Journeys: 2 · Notes: 16
Journeys
Living in an Old House in Onomichi, Part 2
Onomichi ramen and homemade okonomiyaki
Part two of a stay in an old house in Onomichi.
Film published 2023.11.12
Living in an Old House in Onomichi, Part 1
Through the Cat Alley to our house in Onomichi
Onomichi, a town of slopes, literature and movies.
Film published 2023.11.03
01
Cook the local flavors once more
Dishes made in borrowed kitchens, and how each one connects to the land.
02
A little of each town’s story
Sights, specialties and how the towns came to be: small cultural notes beside each journey.
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Cinema Onomichi
The only cinema in Onomichi, the movie town known for Ozu's Tokyo Story and Obayashi's Onomichi trilogy.
From: Onomichi ramen and homemade okonomiyaki
Onomichi, Hiroshima
The former Yamato-yu bathhouse
A former public bathhouse in the Onomichi Hondori arcade, with a concrete facade and an arched entrance.
From: Onomichi ramen and homemade okonomiyaki
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Onomichi Hondori Shopping Street
An arcade about 1.6 kilometers long, running east to west between the sea and the hills.
From: Onomichi ramen and homemade okonomiyaki
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Setoda lemons
Hiroshima Prefecture grows more lemons than any other in Japan: 4,861 tons in 2020, or 56% of the national crop.
From: Onomichi ramen and homemade okonomiyaki
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Onomichi ramen
A soy sauce broth combined with stock from Setouchi small fish such as dried sardines, topped with pork back fat.
From: Onomichi ramen and homemade okonomiyaki
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Yakuza 6 and its Onomichi setting
The poster on the ramen shop wall was for Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, released in December 2016.
From: Onomichi ramen and homemade okonomiyaki
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Neko no Hosomichi (the Cat Alley)
A narrow lane of about 200 meters starting beside the three-story pagoda of Tennei-ji.
From: Through the Cat Alley to our house in Onomichi
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Kaiun-to, the three-story pagoda of Tennei-ji
A Soto Zen temple said to have been founded in 1367 by Ashikaga Yoshiakira.
From: Through the Cat Alley to our house in Onomichi
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Senkoji Ropeway
A ropeway linking the town center with Senkoji Park in three minutes.
From: Through the Cat Alley to our house in Onomichi
Onomichi, Hiroshima
The Onomichi Waterway and a town of slopes, literature and film
The Onomichi Waterway is the narrow strait between Onomichi proper and the island of Mukaishima, and it has made Onomichi one of the Seto Inland Sea's leading p…
From: Through the Cat Alley to our house in Onomichi
03
Places we stopped along the way
What we ate and bought, with shop details checked against published listings.
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Onomichi Ramen Maruboshi
An Onomichi ramen shop in Tsuchido, a walk east along the waterfront from Onomichi Station.
From: Onomichi ramen and homemade okonomiyaki
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Keima Kamaboko Shoten
A fish-cake shop in the Onomichi Hondori arcade, founded in 1913.
From: Onomichi ramen and homemade okonomiyaki
Onomichi, Hiroshima
HIBI COFFEE
A small coffee stand that stood beside the railway tracks partway up the hill.
From: Through the Cat Alley to our house in Onomichi
Onomichi, Hiroshima
Nekonote Pan Kojo
A tiny bakery in a renovated old house, tucked into a maze of alleys where cars cannot enter.
From: Through the Cat Alley to our house in Onomichi
Other places in Chugoku & Shikoku
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Sanagi Island
Sanagi Island, Maki Hachiman Shrine, Awashima
Journeys: 1 · Notes: 7
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Awashima & Shishijima
Awashima, Shishijima, The Great Camphor Tree of Shishijima
Journeys: 1 · Notes: 9
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Shimanami Kaido
Hirakiyama Park, The Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge and the Shimanami Kaido, The beach and harbor at Asanamihara
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Shimonada Station, Futami, where the setting sun stops for a moment, Fisherman's rice in dashi
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Mitoyo (Mt. Shiude)
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Journeys: 1 · Notes: 4