Okonomimura

Okonomimura, literally 'Okonomiyaki Village', is the single most concentrated place on earth to eat Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. Tucked into the neon-lit Shintenchi entertainment district in Naka-ku, it fills floors two through four of the Shintenchi Plaza building with around two dozen independent stalls, each one a tiny counter wrapped around a hot teppan griddle where a cook builds your pancake in front of you.

Hiroshima okonomiyaki is fundamentally different from the Osaka version that most travellers meet first. Instead of mixing everything into a batter, the Hiroshima cook layers it: a thin crepe first, then a mountain of shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, pork belly, a nest of yakisoba or udon noodles, and finally an egg, the whole tower flipped and pressed until it caramelises. It is finished with a glossy sweet-savoury sauce (the village uses a blend created specially for it by a local maker) and a shower of seaweed and spring onion. The result is enormous, cheap, and deeply satisfying.

The building has a real origin story. After the 1945 atomic bombing, food carts selling a simple flour-and-cabbage pancake sprang up around the city as an affordable way to feed people. In the 1950s a cluster of these carts gathered near Shintenchi, and in 1992 they were consolidated into the purpose-built vertical 'village' that stands today, preserving that post-war street-food lineage under one roof. Some of the current shopkeepers are second- or third-generation cooks working the same griddle their grandparents did.

The experience is the point. You climb the stairs or take the small lift, wander past open counters watching sauce hiss on iron, and simply sit down at whichever stall catches your eye. You eat elbow-to-elbow with locals and office workers, often straight off the griddle with a small metal spatula rather than chopsticks. Ordering is easy - point at the standard 'niku-tama-soba' (pork, egg, noodles) and add oysters or extra cheese if you like. Most stalls pour cold beer and chuhai, and the whole meal rarely tops 1,500 yen.

A practical note: many of the stalls take cash only, so stop at a convenience-store ATM first. Lunchtime and the hours right after 18:00 are busiest; a weekday mid-afternoon visit means no wait and a cook who has time to chat. Because the shops are individually run, quality varies slightly night to night, so if one counter is packed with locals, that is your signal.

Getting there is simple. From Hiroshima Station, ride the Hiroden tram toward Hiroden-miyajimaguchi or Ujina and get off at Hatchobori, then walk about five minutes south into Shintenchi; the building is signposted with a large 'Okonomimura' banner. It sits within easy walking distance of the Peace Memorial Park, Hondori shopping arcade and the Nagarekawa nightlife quarter, making it an easy first or last stop on a day in central Hiroshima.