Hiroshima Food

In Osaka the cook mixes cabbage, batter and fillings in a bowl and fries them as one pancake. In Hiroshima nothing is mixed. The cook spreads a thin crepe of batter on the griddle, piles on a mountain of shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, tempura crumbs and slices of pork belly, then flips the whole stack to steam the cabbage down. Alongside, a portion of yakisoba or udon noodles is fried, the stack is lifted onto it, an egg is cracked and spread on the griddle, and the whole thing is turned onto the egg. A brush of thick, sweet Otafuku-style sauce, a dusting of green nori and sometimes mayonnaise finish it.

Order by the noodles and the extras. A basic “niku tama soba” (pork, egg, yakisoba) costs about 900 to 1,200 yen; add squid, shrimp, cheese, green onion (negi) or oysters in winter for 150 to 400 yen each, and expect 1,300 to 1,800 yen for a loaded one. “Udon” swaps the noodles, “W” (double) doubles them. One okonomiyaki is a full meal for most people.

Eat it at the counter. You sit facing the teppan, the cook slides the finished okonomiyaki in front of you, and you cut and eat it straight from the hot plate with a small metal spatula (hera). Plates are offered, but the griddle keeps it hot and crisp underneath. For the national picture, see our Japan food guide.

Okonomimura is the place to start: a building near Shintenchi, five minutes’ walk from Hatchobori streetcar stop, with around two dozen independent okonomiyaki stalls on its second to fourth floors. Each stall is a counter of 8 to 15 seats round its own griddle; walk the floors, pick one with free seats, and come back another night for a different cook. It is open from late morning to late at night, with each stall setting its own hours.

Hatchobori and Nagarekawa hold dozens more counters, many open until midnight or later for the after-drinks crowd. Mitchan Sohonten, one of the city’s oldest names, has branches in Hatchobori and the station area. Nagata-ya, a few minutes’ walk from the Genbaku Dome, is the obvious lunch after the Peace Memorial Park and draws a queue at peak hours. Hassei, a short walk south of the centre, is known for very large portions. Queues at the famous names are 20 to 60 minutes at lunch; neighbourhood places with ten seats and a local crowd are just as good.

Hiroshima Station has an okonomiyaki floor in its shopping complex, handy before a train. Expect a queue at lunch and from 6pm.

Hiroshima Prefecture farms most of Japan’s oysters on rafts in Hiroshima Bay, and you can see them from the ferry. On Miyajima’s main shopping street, Omotesando, which runs from the ferry pier towards Itsukushima Shrine, stalls grill them in the shell over charcoal from about October to March and sell them two or three at a time for 500 to 900 yen. Fried oysters (kaki-furai), oyster rice (kaki-meshi) and oyster okonomiyaki follow the same season. Restaurants with frozen or cultured stock serve them year round, but winter is when they are fat and sweet. Raw oysters are sold too; if you have a weak stomach, stick to cooked ones.

Anago-meshi is conger eel grilled with a sweet soy glaze, sliced over rice cooked in eel broth. It is lighter and less sweet than unagi. The best-known shop, Ueno, has served it beside Miyajimaguchi station since the early 1900s and sells boxed bento to take on the ferry; expect queues at weekends and prices of about 2,500 to 3,500 yen for a set. Several Omotesando restaurants serve anagodon or anago-meshi sets for 2,000 to 3,000 yen.

Hiroshima tsukemen is a summer dish eaten year round: cold, firm ramen noodles served with a separate bowl of dipping sauce made with chilli oil, sesame and soy, topped with boiled cabbage, cucumber, green onion and slices of chashu pork. Shops let you pick the heat on a numbered scale; level 2 or 3 is hot to most visitors. A bowl costs about 900 to 1,200 yen.

Shiru-nashi tantanmen, soupless dandan noodles with Sichuan pepper and minced pork, is a newer Hiroshima craze; mix it thoroughly and finish with a scoop of rice. Onomichi ramen from Onomichi is a clear soy broth with fish stock, flat noodles and floating cubes of pork back fat.

Hiroshima lemons grow on the islands of the Inland Sea, especially around Setoda on the Shimanami Kaido between Onomichi and Imabari: look for lemon cakes, lemon chuhai and lemon nabe hot pot in winter.

Ekiben at Hiroshima Station, sold for the shinkansen to Osaka and Fukuoka, include anago-meshi, oyster rice in winter and okonomiyaki in a box for the shinkansen.

Kure navy curry. Kure has been a naval port since the 1880s, and the Japanese navy served curry every Friday to keep sailors on schedule at sea. The Maritime Self-Defence Force still does, and around 30 restaurants in the city serve the recipe of a specific ship, certified by the crew, with a photo of the vessel on the menu. A plate with the customary milk and salad costs about 1,000 to 1,600 yen. Combine it with the JMSDF Kure Museum and the Yamato Museum on a day trip.

Saijo sake. Saijo, in Higashihiroshima, is one of Japan’s three great sake towns alongside Nada in Kobe and Fushimi in Kyoto. Eight breweries, including Kamotsuru, Hakubotan, Kamoizumi and Fukubijin, stand within a 10-minute walk of JR Saijo station, their red-brick chimneys marking the street. Most offer free tastings of a few sakes and sell bottles from about 1,500 yen. The local soft water gives a smooth, gently sweet style. JR Sanyo Line trains take about 35 minutes from Hiroshima. The Saijo Sake Festival on a weekend in early to mid October draws large crowds; check the date before you go.

Hiroshima’s izakaya cluster in Nagarekawa and Yagenbori, east of Hondori, and in the streets around Hatchobori. Draft beer is about 500 to 700 yen, a glass of local sake 500 to 1,000 yen and a lemon sour 400 to 600 yen. Yakitori, oyster dishes and anago tempura are common izakaya orders; many charge a 300 to 600 yen seat charge (otoshi) that comes with a small dish.

Local sake brands to look for on menus include Kamotsuru and Kamoizumi from Saijo and Sempuku from Kure. Hiroshima is also the home city of the Carp baseball team; on game nights the bars around the Mazda Stadium near the station fill with red shirts.

A comfortable food budget is 3,500 to 6,000 yen a day per person (about 23 to 40 USD). Many okonomiyaki counters and Miyajima stalls are cash only, so carry some yen; larger restaurants and the station take cards and IC cards.

At the counter: do not lean on the teppan, which stays hot for hours. Use the hera to cut wedges and eat from the griddle; ask for chopsticks and a plate if you prefer. There is no tipping in Japan, and a “gochisosama deshita” as you leave is appreciated.

On Miyajima: eating while walking is tolerated on Omotesando, but finish near the stall and use its bin rather than carrying wrappers; the island has few public bins. Keep food away from the deer, which will snatch paper bags and maps. Feeding them is banned.

Vegetarians and vegans will struggle with okonomiyaki: the batter usually contains dashi fish stock and the sauce may too. Some counters make a version without pork or seafood on request; a few places in the city advertise vegan okonomiyaki. Tsukemen sauce is usually pork-based. Shellfish allergy sufferers should say so clearly, as oyster and shrimp are common toppings and share the griddle.

Halal: options are limited compared with Tokyo or Osaka; the tourist office at Hiroshima Station keeps a list of halal-friendly restaurants.