What should you eat in Hiroshima?

Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki

This is the dish to come for. Unlike the mixed Osaka version, Hiroshima okonomiyaki is built in layers on the griddle: a thin crepe of batter, a tall heap of shredded cabbage and bean sprouts, slices of pork, a layer of fried noodles (soba or udon), an egg, then sweet-savoury sauce and aonori. The cabbage steams down under the weight, so it ends up both light and enormous.

Where: Okonomimura in the Shintenchi area just off the Hondori shopping arcade, a building with more than two dozen small okonomiyaki counters stacked over three floors, each run by a different cook. It is touristy and still worth it, because you sit at the griddle and watch your order built. There are more okonomiyaki counters in and around Hiroshima Station, handy if you arrive late.

How to order: choose soba or udon noodles, then add-ons such as squid, green onion, cheese or extra egg. Eat it from the griddle with the small metal spatula (hera) to keep it hot; ask for a plate if you prefer. A single portion is a full meal for most people.

From the Inland Sea

Oysters (kaki). Hiroshima Prefecture farms the majority of Japan's oysters in the calm Inland Sea. Season runs roughly from October to March, when you find them grilled in the shell, deep-fried as kaki-fry, in rice and in hotpot. On Miyajima, stalls along Omotesando, the shopping street between the ferry pier and the shrine, grill them in the shell over charcoal. Outside the season, many places still serve frozen or farmed ones, but freshly shucked is a winter thing.

Anago-meshi. Conger eel grilled with a sweet soy glaze and laid over rice cooked in eel broth. It is the speciality of Miyajima and Miyajimaguchi, the ferry town on the mainland side. It is lighter and less oily than freshwater unagi. Lunch queues at the best-known shops are long, so eat early, or buy an anago-meshi bento to take on the ferry or the train.

Momiji manju. Small maple-leaf-shaped sponge cakes filled with red bean paste, custard or cheese, Miyajima's souvenir sweet. Shops on Omotesando make them by machine in the window. Age-momiji, the deep-fried version on a stick, is eaten hot on the street.

Our Hiroshima and Miyajima day trip guide covers the ferry and timings to plan around these meals.

Noodles, lemons and sake

Hiroshima tsukemen. Cold noodles dipped into a sharp, chilli-red soy sauce with sesame, served with cabbage and spring onion. You choose the spice level by number; start low, because the top levels are seriously hot. It is a summer and late-night favourite in the downtown Nagarekawa and Hondori areas.

Shiru-nashi tantanmen. Soupless dandan noodles with sesame, chilli oil and Sichuan pepper, a newer local favourite. Mix it thoroughly before the first bite, then eat the half-bowl of rice that usually comes with it to finish the sauce.

Lemons. Hiroshima is Japan's largest lemon producer, mostly from the Inland Sea islands, so you will see lemon sweets, lemon sours (shochu highballs) and lemon-flavoured everything. Lemon sour with okonomiyaki is the local pairing.

Saijo sake. Saijo, in Higashi-Hiroshima on the JR Sanyo line east of the city, is one of Japan's well-known sake towns, with several breweries along one street. In the city itself, any izakaya will pour local Hiroshima sake if you ask for jizake.

Where to eat in Hiroshima

• Shintenchi and Hondori: Okonomimura and the covered Hondori arcade, ten minutes' walk from the Peace Memorial Park. Most visitors' first dinner.

• Nagarekawa and Yagenbori: the nightlife streets east of Hondori, for izakaya, oysters and tsukemen.

• Hiroshima Station: okonomiyaki counters and bento for the train.

• Miyajima Omotesando: grilled oysters, anago-meshi and momiji manju. Eat early; the island empties out and many shops close by early evening once the day visitors leave.

For where to base yourself between the station and the Peace Park, see where to stay in Hiroshima.

Etiquette and tipping

No tipping, as everywhere in Japan; see our tipping guide. At okonomiyaki counters, do not cut into the pancake while the cook is still finishing it; wait until it is slid in front of you. Okonomimura counters are small and some take cash only. On Miyajima, deer will try to take food and paper bags out of your hands: eat inside or keep snacks out of sight. The Japan etiquette mistakes guide covers the general rules.

If you only have one day to eat in Hiroshima

• Morning: ferry to Miyajima; momiji manju and grilled oysters on Omotesando.

• Lunch: anago-meshi on Miyajima or at Miyajimaguchi before the ferry back.

• Dinner: Hiroshima okonomiyaki at Okonomimura, with a lemon sour, then tsukemen in Nagarekawa if you are still hungry.

Most people give Hiroshima too little time; see how many days in Hiroshima and day trips from Hiroshima. If you came from Osaka, compare its mixed okonomiyaki in what to eat in Osaka. The national dishes are in our Japan food guide.

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