From Wikitravel

Onomichi (尾道; [1]) is a small port city in Hiroshima prefecture.

Under the radar of most tourists, Onomichi is best known for its dozens of ancient temples, as well as the home of a number of Japan's more famous authors including Shiga Naoya and Takahashi Gen'ichirō. Better preserved than most towns of its kind, in recent times Onomichi has also been used to shoot a number of movies and TV dramas.

• Onomichi City Hall, 15-1 Kubo 1-chome, Onomichi-shi, 722-8501, ☎ 084-825-7111. Tourist information.  edit

[edit] Get in

[edit] By train

Onomichi is on the San'yo shinkansen line, between Hiroshima to the west and Okayama to the east. Note that the shinkansen stops at JR Shin-Onomichi Station (新尾道駅), which is about 15-20 minutes by bus from the more centrally located JR Onomichi Station (尾道駅), where the ordinary San'yo Main Line stops. Also, only the slow Kodama trains stop at Shin-Onomichi.

Therefore, if you are traveling on the San'yo shinkansen, transfer to the San'yo Main Line at Fukuyama — all Kodama and Hikari trains stop there, as does one Nozomi per hour. From Fukuyama, Onomichi is 20 minutes away by regular train, and a handful of departures are timed to meet bullet train arrivals.

[edit] By ferry

Ferries shuttle out to various nearby islands in the Seto Inland Sea. The harbor is directly next to JR Onomichi Station.

[edit] By bus

Two daytime buses run from Osaka to Onomichi (approx. 4 3/4 hours, ¥3870 one way, ¥7020 round trip). Shuttle buses also run from Hiroshima Airport (80 minutes, ¥1120).

[edit] Get around

A convenient bus shuttles through the town, with departures next to JR Onomichi Station. For Senkōji-kōen, get off at the Nagae-guchi bus stop — about seven minutes from the station (or twenty minutes on foot).

[edit][add listing] See

• Senkōji-kōen (千光寺公園), ☎ 084-822-4900, [2]. Senkōji Park is famous for its cherry blossoms (in season) and the starting point for the Path of Literature (see next item). Outside season, you can also gaze up the Seto Inland Sea and Onomichi's massive shipyards. Located atop a small hill, the park is best reached on the Senkoji Ropeway (9AM-5:15PM). The three-minute journey to the top will set you back ¥270/430 one-way/return adults, half-price for kids.  edit

• Path of Literature (文学のこみち ''Bungaku no komichi''). Winds its way down from Senkoji Park back to the city. It features 24 stones, carved with memorable quotes from Japanese authors somehow linked to Onomichi; alas, they're all in Japanese, but it's a pleasant stroll through woods, temples and shrines just the same.  edit

• Senkō-ji Temple (千光寺). Halfway down the Path of Literature, this is the largest temple on the hill. Its speciality is the grinning Niko Niko Jizō doll, the "always smiling protector of children" that most Buddhist sages would have a fairly hard time recognizing as the boddhisattva Ksitigarbha.  edit

• At the bottom of the hill the path merges with the well-signposted Old Temple Loop (古寺めぐり Koji-meguri), which connects 25 of Onomichi's better-known temples in a 2-kilometer east-west walk. Senkō-ji is #7, heading west will take you almost back to the train station, while at the eastern end (#23) is Jōdō-ji (浄土寺), which despite the name is actually a Shingon (not Jodo) sect temple.

• Onomichi City Museum of Art, 17-19 Nishituchido-cho (In Senkōji-kōen), ☎ 084-823-2281. Tu-Su 9AM-5PM. Features a modest collection of Chinese, Japanese, and Western art and handicrafts. The building itself tends to attract the most attention, having been redesigned by star architect Tadao Ando in 2003. Admission free; special exhibitions cost ¥1000 or so.  edit

[edit][add listing] Do

[edit][add listing] Buy

• Ichibangai Shotengari A classic Japanese covered shopping arcade runs from just east of JR Onomichi JR station for about a kilometer parallel to the shoreline. It is theoretically pedestrianised, but cyclists, scooters and cars use it as a short-cut, so take care when walking there. It contains an eclectic mixture of shops, from the ever-useful ¥100 store to a shop that sells all kinds of edged instruments (scissors, saws, knives).

[edit][add listing] Eat

The local speciality is Onomichi ramen, a variation of the ubiquitous noodle soup that would look suspiciously like the ordinary soy-flavored kind if not for the hint of fish paste in the stock and the gobs of melted lard floating on top. The cylindrical restaurant at the top of the Senkō-ji ropeway will happily serve you a bowl, as will nearly any restaurant in the station/harbor area.

[edit][add listing] Drink

[edit][add listing] Sleep

Unless you have a keen interest in Pure Land Buddhism or Japanese literature, it's probably not worth your while to spend the night in Onomichi. Most people opt to day-trip from Hiroshima or Okayama.

[edit] Get out

• Fukuyama
• Kurashiki
• Okayama
• Hiroshima

Routes through Onomichi

Hakata ← Hiroshima ← Higashi-Hiroshima ← Mihara ←	W  E	→ Fukuyama → Shin-Osaka
Yamaguchi ← Hiroshima ←	W  E	→ Fukuyama → Kobe

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