One Day in Onomichi, Japan
Onomichi is a small, seaside town in the Hiroshima prefecture in Japan.
It’s known for the temple walk hike, cats and cycling 🚲
I really loved my day trip in Onomichi - it’s a quiet and peaceful town, which is quite a change from the hustle and bustle of Osaka city or even Kyoto!
Discover things to do and see, where to eat and to stay in this blog post.
Things To Do & See
Hike up to the Senkoji Observatory (Or take the Cable Car)
In my opinion, the best thing to do in Onomichi is hiking up to the Senkoji Peak observatory and taking in the view of the town. Hiking up from the main Onomichi street maybe takes around 20-30 minutes and you walk through little side streets and alleys. Of course, if you want to take the Rope way to go up the observatory that’s also possible.
And if you can get there at sunset, even better! However, if you want to go back down by rope way, it closes quite early - when I was there in October the last cable car departed at 17:15; though I think this also depends on the time of the year.
Stroll along the water promenade
Onomichi is a small port town, so it’s located right at the water. It’s lovely to have a stroll along the water especially around sunset and watching the ferry’s go back and forth the islands.
Or in the morning, after getting a coffee at POUR Specialty Coffee.
Visit the temples and do the temple walk.
There are quite a few temples to visit in Onomichi, including Hodo Temple, Tennei Temple and Zensho-ji - but there are many others.
Onomichi is also famous for its “Temple Walk” - this is a hike you can do across the town and it’s a 2.5km long hike that passes all the 25 temples in Onomichi.
Check out Cat Alley
There’s a really cute little street in Onomichi called Cat Alley that is adorned with cat statues, cat art and of course, you can spot some actual cats as well. There’s also a cat cafe close by, and the alley itself is a fun photo spot.
Onomichi City Museum of Art
This museum sits on top of the Senkoji Hill, so if you can combine it with your visit to the Peak Observatory. This museum displays both local and Western artworks and the museum is designed by the Japanese architect Tadao Ando.
Visit Okunoshima Island
This island is right across from Onomichi and can be reached by ferry. This island is also known as “rabbit island”! Which obviously means you will see a lot of rabbits hopping around.. 😅 Apparently, there used to be a chemical lab on this island during WWII. You can also visit the Poison Gas Museum on this island.
Cycle the Shimanami Kaido route
Onomichi is also famous for its cycling route that connects the six islands in the Seto Inland sea. Travellers around the world come here to bike the 70 km cycle route.
A cafe owner in Onomichi told me that lots of Dutch people come here to cycle (Dutch people love cycling FYI). Because I told him I was Dutch he asked me if I came to cycle as well. I told him “I like cycling but not that much 🤣”.
Where to eat & drink coffee
Coffee/tea/dessert
Tea Stand Yamate - This traditional Japanese tea place was one of my favourite spots in Onomichi. You can order a hot or iced tea and a dessert (such as the mochi you see in the picture) and enjoy them in the tatami tea room, overlooking Onomichi town.
LIEN ONOMICHI - A great specialty coffee place that is only open in the weekends!
POUR Specialty Coffee - a specialty coffee takeaway spot that is also open rather early -7AM! Which is rather rare for Japansese coffee places (which I loved). Get a coffee here and sip it in from of the water-side.
SEN Coffee - a cafe at the top of a hill overlooking Onomichi and the harbour
Food
Takahara Seikichi - a modern and stylish izakaya that is highly rated. I wanted to go here but couldn’t get a table, so if you want to go, make sure to reserve.
Onomichi Yokocho - A fun izakaya restaurant where I had excellent sashimi.
Shoya - a small Ramen restaurant that serves soy-based broth Ramen
Curry Cafe Aozora Papad - if you’re not feeling like Japanese food, then this curry place is a great option - they’ve got delicious curry dishes served with naan or rice.
Where to stay
I stayed at the Beacon Hotel which is right at Onomichi station, which makes it probably the hotel with the most convenient location! It’s a fairly new hotel as well and the rooms were really big too. It also features a private onsen, which you can book at the front desk. This was actually one of my favourite hotels I stayed at in Japan (so far!). The set-meal breakfast is also included and the food was excellent.
Other hotels that I can recommend in Onomichi are:
Mange Tak Resort Onomichi - Modern hotel that serves free ice cream and has projectors in the room!
尾道倶楽部 - This Japanese boutique hotel is on top of the hill so you will have a beautiful view on the bay.
When to go
Onomichi is beautiful all year round but here are a few highlights:
Spring blossom season - Sometime around late March and April the cherry blossoms start blossoming and Senkoji park will be in full bloom
Onomichi Lantern festival - in early October, there is a Lantern festival and you’ll see many beautiful lanterns illuminating the city.
Onomichi Port Festival - This festival is celebrated in mid-April and marks Onomichi’s origin as a port city.
How to get there
Onomichi is located between Osaka and Hiroshima and can be reached by Shinkansen as well. However, be aware that the Shinkansen station is not the station in the city centre of Onomichi, but is about a 10 min bus ride away from the JR station (Shin-Onomichi). You can take the local train as well from both Osaka and Hiroshima, which would take you to the main station inside the city centre.
You can also check Shinkansen from Osaka to Onomichi tickets on Klook.
Getting around Onomichi
Onomichi is pretty small, so you can easily get around by foot or even bike. There are also plenty of buses that can bring you around the town.
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