Onomichi: The Seaside Mountain Town of Friendly Felines and Savoury Soup

Photo: Richard Henry

And yet, you know them, and they know you. They come with a sense of safety and familiarity, unlike the constantly moving metropolises that offer plenty of things to do but are often full of annoyed faces on a soup of commuters just trying to get through their day.

Don’t worry. Japan has all of that, too – the fast and the slow. Many of the country’s little towns, however, hug the seaside and come with the quirks of friendly traditions and inviting flavours.

Take Onomichi, for example. As cozy at is quaint, this tiny town in Hiroshima prefecture in West Japan sits on a Japan Rail line and straddles the inner straights of the Seto Inland Sea – the start of a great connection of mountainous islands famous for beautiful cycling routes.

On its own, however, Onomichi is cute, quiet, and full of loveable experiences and people. With its gorgeous train-lined mountains, cliff-side temples, nationally renowned ramen, and cat-covered sea viewing areas, Onomichi is a setting seemingly out of a Ghibli film but meant for slow strolls of endless charming discoveries.

Let’s Start with the Cats

Of course. How could we not?

Social media enthusiasts may remember a various string of viral videos involving two cats trying to persistently enter an art museum but are constantly met with denial by an equally tenacious but gentle security guard. This all happened at the Onomichi City Museum of Art – just a stone’s throw from Cat Alley, a series of narrow streets full of cats and cat things, which are both on the same inner-city mountain that supports Senkoji Park and temple.

Photo: Richard Henry

Onomichi loves cats, and cats love Onomichi. The city even hosts an annual cat festival that includes cat themed snacks, games, face painting, and yet another reason to visit the cats that roam the mountain paths. Visit the Manekineko Museum for cat themed items and look around the gallery to see their extensive collection of lucky and beckoning cat statues and figurines. If nothing else, spending some time with the kitties on the mountain while appreciating a nice sunset could do anyone a world of good.

The Mountain Temple

If anything stays consistent throughout a visit to Onomichi it’s that you won’t find a single bad view in the city. Through an alley, on a hill, in the harbour – there’s always quality scenery. Sit with it and take it all in, for sure, but you’d regret coming without a camera.

Prime panoramic real estate can be found from sitting aside Senkoji – the temple of the same name as the park that straddles the mountainside and offers incomparable views of Onomichi’s southern mountainous islands.

Photo: Richard Henry

Accessible by either ropeway or a brief hike, the temple provides visitors with an opportunity to offer a coin to pray, contribute incense, whack the temple bell, or climb the neighbouring rock using an attached chain to visit the deity at the top. The sites around the temple also provide visitors with interesting prayer opportunities and scenes from behind pagodas that often make the front pages and magazines and travel posters.

Photo: Richard Henry

Did we mention the park in spring? Cherry blossoms blanket the mountain like a dream. There just isn’t a bad season in Onomichi.

The Ramen of Ramens

That’s right. Onomichi ramen is a dish loved by tourists and locals alike, and it’s chronically sought out when visiting the city.

While shops around Onomichi put their own spin on the recipe, the main idea of this signature shoyu (soy sauce) ramen is both pork fat and small fish from the Seto, mixed with a flatter version of the expected noodle. While that doesn’t sound like much, the process from start to finish takes a great deal of love and dedication.

Thus, getting a chance to slurp up some of this golden goodness often requires waiting in a long queue. Like anywhere in the world, the longer the line typically means that it’s worth the wait.

Shops like Hinode Shokudo and Onomichi Ramen Kuishin Bousenryo, both in the shopping arcade area easily spotted from the station exit, are deserving choices. Both hole-in-the-wall restaurants, the limited seating see them regularly packed, and rightfully so. Delicious is an understatement.

 

Photo: Richard Henry

Unforgettable Activities

Onomichi’s local festivals and position along some of the most mesmerizing natural wonders of Japan make it a treat to hone in on.

Aside from the cat festival, Onomichi’s annual lantern festival sees the area become lit up by layers of candle-lit paper lanterns many of which are built and decorated by local children. Arranged in intricate shapes and aligning the steps leading to the temple sites, everywhere from the bay area shopping arcade to the top of the inner mountain is filled with them, and it’s as lovely an experience as it sounds.

Photo by Richard Henry

Experiencing the Shimanami Kaido, the cycling route of some of the dreamiest landscapes on the planet, starts or ends with Onomichi. Marked with a blue line leading all the way to Shikoku, bikers from all over the world come to traverse this series of bridges and beaches to get a glimpse at the Seto Inland Sea from its centre.

While renting a bicycle from either side of the route and making it from start to finish can take all day, if not more, taking a bus is much shorter for those that want to see the sights without putting in so much work. Either way, it really is something special.

Finally, with islands comes beaches. Shimanami Beach on Innoshima is a fine stop along the Shimanami Kaido, while the Setoda Sunset Beach on Ikuchi is exceptional for those wanting to plan their stop for a little further down the line. The sea sights guarantee a worthwhile resting place.

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