Layered okonomiyaki, oyster rafts and cold chilli noodles.
Free cancellation on most tours, with live prices on the partner's site.
Hiroshima eats with a griddle and a shell. The okonomiyaki here is layered, never mixed: a crepe-thin batter, a mound of cabbage steamed down under pork belly, a nest of fried soba, an egg pressed flat on top, all under sweet brown sauce. The city counts its okonomiyaki shops in the high hundreds, and two buildings, Okonomimura in Shintenchi and Ekimae Hiroba beside the station, gather the counters under one roof. The other half of the story is the water. Hiroshima Bay farms the majority of Japan's oysters on hanging rafts, and between October and March they are eaten raw, grilled in the shell at waterfront sheds, steamed in a can, and crumbed in coarse panko. Beyond those two, the city has its own noodles: cold tsukemen with a graded chilli sauce, broth-free tantanmen stirred thirty times before the first mouthful, and a restrained soy bowl locals still call chuka soba. Add conger eel from Miyajima, lemons from the Setouchi islands and soft-water sake from Saijo, and the prefecture feeds itself almost entirely from its own doorstep.
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The plates that define eating in Hiroshima.
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 Mitchan Sohonten Hatchobori, Yagenbori Hassho, Nagataya, Lopez, Reichan
Taste itOkonomiyaki Cooking Class with a Local Chef¥8,800Where to eat Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki in Hiroshima →Deep-cupped Seto Inland Sea oysters, farmed on hanging rafts and eaten raw, grilled in the shell, steamed in a can or deep-fried in panko between roughly October and March.
Where Kakibune Kanawa, Kaki Goya Fukuromachi Umihei Shoten, Milky Tetsuo no Kaki Goya Ujina
Where to eat Hiroshima oysters (kaki) in Hiroshima →Cold, straight, medium-thick noodles served with boiled cabbage, cucumber and spring onion, dipped into a chilled soy and seafood-stock sauce loaded with chilli and sesame.
Where Bakudanya Honten
Where to eat Hiroshima tsukemen in Hiroshima →Grilled saltwater conger eel laid over rice that has been cooked in stock made from the eel bones, a Miyajima dish sold at the ferry crossing since the early twentieth century.
Where to eat Anago-meshi in Hiroshima →A restrained soy and pork-bone bowl with thin straight noodles, chashu, spring onion and bean sprouts, still called chuka soba here rather than ramen.
Where Chukasoba Youki Eba Honten, Tsubame Ramen, Rai Rai Tei
Where to eat Hiroshima chuka soba in Hiroshima →Hiroshima oysters crumbed in panko and deep-fried until the coating cracks and the oyster inside is still barely set, served with shredded cabbage and tartare sauce.
Where Kakibune Kanawa, Kaki Goya Fukuromachi Umihei Shoten
Where to eat Kaki furai in Hiroshima →A maple-leaf-shaped castella sponge filled with sweet red bean paste, baked in iron moulds on Miyajima and sold hot from the shop fronts along Omotesando.
Where to eat Momiji manju in Hiroshima →A soy bowl from the Hiroshima port town of Onomichi, built on chicken and small-fish stock and finished with cubes of pork back fat that float on the surface.
Where to eat Onomichi ramen in Hiroshima →A handful of the places we send friends to when they are in Hiroshima.
Mitchan Sohonten in Hiroshima layers cabbage, pork and crisped soba on the teppan at its Hatchobori flagship, the shop whose founder set the postwar template.
OrderSoba niku-tama, the layered pork, cabbage and noodle okonomiyaki
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.
OrderSoba niku-tama at 1,150 yen, the only order most regulars ever place
Kakibune Kanawa moors on the Motoyasu river in Hiroshima and serves oysters from the family's own rafts, raw downstairs and in courses above.
OrderThe oyster course, built around raft-grown Seto Inland Sea oysters
Kaki Goya Fukuromachi Umihei Shoten keeps Hiroshima's fisherman-hut oyster format running indoors all year, one kilo of shells steamed in a can.
OrderThe kilo of oysters steam-grilled in a can over the burner
Yakiniku Furusato in Hiroshima is a butcher first and a grill second, cutting Sakakiyama beef to order behind the counter in the Danbara district.
OrderThe chef's four-cut lean selection of Sakakiyama beef
Sensui gathers kaiseki, teppanyaki and a sushi counter on one floor of the Hilton in Hiroshima, with private rooms for the seasonal courses.
OrderThe seasonal kaiseki course, from 10,000 yen at dinner
The covered arcade and the streets between it and Peace Memorial Park: bakeries, coffee roasters, okonomiyaki counters and the oyster boat on the river.
Best for: Okonomiyaki, Oysters, Coffee, Bakeries
Also: hondori, fukuromachi, kamiyacho, nakajima-cho
Hiroshima's department-store district, where the okonomiyaki flagship, the small counter kitchens and the office lunch trade all sit within a few blocks.
Best for: Okonomiyaki, Small plates, Lunch
The drinking grid: several thousand bars, izakaya and okonomiyaki counters packed into a few blocks that only really wake up after 19:00.
Best for: Bars, Tsukemen, Late night
Also: yagenbori, shintenchi
An okonomiyaki floor of its own, a station food hall and the ramen shops around Enkobashi, all within a few minutes of the shinkansen gates.
Best for: Okonomiyaki, Ramen, Bento
The southwest riverside wards, home to the 1958 chuka soba counter, a brewery beer hall and the book cafe that keeps its own calendar.
Best for: Chuka soba, Craft beer, Cafes
Also: dohashi
Southern Minami-ku, from the Danbara backstreets down the Ujina tram line to the port: local ramen counters, a butcher's yakiniku grill and the winter oyster hut.
Best for: Ramen, Yakiniku, Oysters
Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki
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
Hiroshima oysters (kaki)
Deep-cupped Seto Inland Sea oysters, farmed on hanging rafts and eaten raw, grilled in the shell, steamed in a can or deep-fried in panko between roughly October and March
Hiroshima tsukemen
Cold, straight, medium-thick noodles served with boiled cabbage, cucumber and spring onion, dipped into a chilled soy and seafood-stock sauce loaded with chilli and sesame
Anago-meshi
Grilled saltwater conger eel laid over rice that has been cooked in stock made from the eel bones, a Miyajima dish sold at the ferry crossing since the early twentieth century
Hiroshima chuka soba
A restrained soy and pork-bone bowl with thin straight noodles, chashu, spring onion and bean sprouts, still called chuka soba here rather than ramen
Hiroshima Station and Ekimae
An okonomiyaki floor of its own, a station food hall and the ramen shops around Enkobashi, all within a few minutes of the shinkansen gates
A sample of Hiroshima hotels from our booking partner, who list 256 here. Live prices and availability open on their site.
Backpackers Hostel K's House Hiroshima
With a stay at Backpackers Hostel K's House Hiroshima in Hiroshima (Hiroshima City Centre), you'll be steps...
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Santiago Guesthouse Hiroshima â Hostel
With a stay at Santiago Guesthouse Hiroshima Hostel in Hiroshima (Naka Ward), you'll be steps from Hiroshi...
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Santiago Hotel
With a stay at Santiago Hotel in Hiroshima (Naka Ward), you'll be within a 5-minute walk of Hiroshima Centr...
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Nest Hotel Hiroshima Ekimae
A stay at Nest Hotel Hiroshima Ekimae places you in the heart of Hiroshima, within a 10-minute walk of Shim...
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Nest Hotel Hiroshima Hatchobori
A stay at Nest Hotel Hiroshima Hatchobori places you in the heart of Hiroshima, steps from Hiroshima Centra...
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THE KNOT Hiroshima
THE KNOT Hiroshima is centrally located in Hiroshima, a 4-minute walk from Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park an...
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EN HOTEL Hiroshima
With a stay at EN HOTEL Hiroshima in Hiroshima (Naka Ward), you'll be steps from Kyobashi River and 14 minu...
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HOTEL MYSTAYS Hiroshima Peace Park
A stay at HOTEL MYSTAYS Hiroshima Peace Park places you in the heart of Hiroshima, steps from Hiroshima Pea...
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KOKO HOTEL Hiroshima Ekimae
With a stay at KOKO HOTEL Hiroshima Ekimae in Hiroshima (Hiroshima City Centre), you'll be steps from Kyoba...
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Hotel Peace Park Tokaichi
With a stay at Hotel Peace Park Tokaichi in Hiroshima (Naka Ward), you'll be within a 10-minute walk of Hir...
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Hotel Yamashiroya
With a stay at Hotel Yamashiroya in Hiroshima (Naka Ward), you'll be steps from Hiroshima Central Shopping ...
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Red Planet Hiroshima
With a stay at Red Planet Hiroshima in Hiroshima (Naka Ward), you'll be a 2-minute walk from Hiroshima Cent...
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Also compare: Zen Hotels in Hiroshima from USD 82/night · Booking.com in Hiroshima · LateRooms in Hiroshima
Stays are listed by our booking partners, not editor picks. We earn a commission if you book, at no cost to you.
Every restaurant, cafe, market and bar we cover in Hiroshima, pinned. Click a pin for the page.
Peak food season: October to March for oysters, June to September for cold tsukemen. Okonomiyaki is year-round.
Local dining hours: Lunch 11:30-14:00, dinner 17:30-21:00. Nagarekawa bars run past 03:00.
Tipping: No tipping anywhere in Japan. Some izakaya add a small otoshi seat charge instead.
Hiroshima's signature dishes include Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, Hiroshima oysters (kaki), Hiroshima tsukemen, Shirunashi tantanmen, Anago-meshi. See our signature dishes chapter for where to eat each.
TableJourney editors map Hiroshima by district. Hondori and Otemachi, Hatchobori and Tatemachi, Nagarekawa and Yagenbori, Hiroshima Station and Ekimae are among the strongest for food, each with its own guide.
Editor picks in Hiroshima include Sensui, Kakibune Kanawa, Steak and Seafood Boston, plus the full fine dining chapter on TableJourney.
TableJourney covers 5 editor-picked food tours in Hiroshima, with what each shows you and how much to budget.
TableJourney's Hiroshima dietary chapter covers vegan, vegetarian venues, each editor-picked with what to order and how to ask.
