Jun 27, 2012 - 1 min read

Okonomiyaki

Hiroshima's most famous dish

By JJ Walsh

Community writer

Any visitor to Hiroshima will likely try the signature dish, Hiroshima style okonomiyaki. Called "Hiroshima style" to separate it from the Kansai style which is all mixed and cooked together. Hiroshima style is cooked in layers of crepe, egg, chopped cabbage, noodles, vegetables, meat and other desired toppings.

Many Hiroshima locals have been eating Okonomiyaki their whole lives, in the olden days, it was made more simply with batter and cabbage. Some people brought in their own eggs to save money.

There is a lot of competition between the different shops, especially in the crowded okonomiyaki zones of the city: across from the main Hiroshima train station, in the center of town at Okonomiyaki-mura and other areas where there are many small okonomiyaki shops packed together in the same space.

Considered a budget meal, you can find okonomiyaki for as little as a few hundred yen and if you choose a lot of toppings, you may pay up to 1,500 yen.