A thin crepe batter, a mountain of shredded cabbage, pork belly, a nest of fried soba and an egg, all layered rather than mixed and pressed on a teppan under sweet brown sauce.
Where to eat it: 5 restaurants across 1 city.
Okonomiyaki in Hiroshima grew out of issen yoshoku, a prewar snack of batter and spring onion sold to children. After 1945 it became reconstruction food, cooked on sheet-metal griddles at stalls in the bombed centre of the city. Ise Mitsuo, who traded as Mitchan, is credited with fixing the modern shape: the layered build, the dedicated sauce and the addition of noodles under the egg. Stalls from the Nishi-Shintenchi square were moved into a single building in 1965, and that building became Okonomimura. The city now counts okonomiyaki shops in the high hundreds.
Common allergens: Gluten, Egg, Soy
Tip from the editors. Do not stir the cabbage into the batter. The Hiroshima version is built in layers, and mixing gives you the Osaka dish instead.
The Hatchobori flagship of Mitchan Sohonten is the Hiroshima okonomiyaki counter most locals still send first-time visitors to, a brand trading since 1950.
Signature: Soba niku-tama, Grilled oysters, Koune
Order: Soba niku-tama, with grilled oysters alongside at the evening teppan service
Tip: Evening service adds teppanyaki plates of oysters, horumon and koune that the lunch menu does not carry.
Yagenbori Hassho is the Hiroshima okonomiyaki counter that works slowly, resting the cabbage under pork belly for 20 to 30 minutes before the soba lands.
Signature: Soba niku-tama, Teppanyaki ox tongue
Order: Soba niku-tama at 1,150 yen, the only order most regulars ever place
Tip: Cooking takes 20 to 30 minutes per griddle cake, so this is a sit-down dinner rather than a quick stop.
Nagataya keeps its lunch okonomiyaki near the A-Bomb Dome at around 1,000 yen, which is fair going for a counter standing this close to the Peace Park.
Try: Hiroshima okonomiyaki
Tip: Lunch runs cheaper than dinner here, and the kitchen closes for the day at 20:00 rather than running late.
Lopez sits well outside the Hiroshima okonomiyaki tourist circuit in Kusunoki-cho, and it closes all weekend, which keeps the counter firmly local.
Order: Vegetables, pork, egg and soba with jalapenos on top
Why locals love it: A Guatemalan cook running an okonomiyaki griddle in a residential corner of Nishi-ku, open weeknights only and never at the weekend.
Tip: The shop opens at 16:30 on weekdays and shuts Saturday and Sunday, so it never appears on a weekend itinerary.
Reichan starts its Hiroshima soba okonomiyaki at 790 yen inside ekie, which is fair going for a counter built into the Hiroshima Station complex itself.
Try: Soba okonomiyaki
Tip: Squid and prawn toppings push the bill up quickly; the plain soba version is the budget order here.
More cities are in research. Want hiroshima-style okonomiyaki covered somewhere specific? Tell us where you want to eat.