Hiroshima-Style Okonomiyaki: A Traveler’s Guide to the City’s Soul Food
- Thomas & Yuka
- Jan 22
- 3 min read
The dish we love recommending to everyone visiting Hiroshima is okonomiyaki. This layered savory pancake is often called the city’s soul food and is perfect after a long day of sightseeing, whether you’re exploring the city center or visiting Miyajima.
For locals, okonomiyaki is much more than just comfort food. It’s part of Hiroshima’s identity.
Okonomiyaki literally means “what you like grilled” in Japanese. It’s a thin savory pancake cooked on a large hot plate called a teppan. The base is layered with plenty of cabbage and green onions, and sometimes bean sprouts are added for extra crunch.
On top, pork is grilled along with soba noodles, followed by an egg that brings everything together. While every restaurant has its own style and toppings, okonomiyaki is typically finished with katsuobushi (dried tuna flakes), aonori seaweed, a thick savory sauce made specifically for okonomiyaki, and a drizzle of Japanese mayonnaise.
Some of our guests’ favorite toppings include cheese, grilled oysters, and mochi. For a bit of heat and extra flavor, we highly recommend trying the jalapeño topping.
Watching our guests enjoy their okonomiyaki is always one of the highlights of the tour, and it’s fun to see everyone experimenting with their favorite combinations.
Why Hiroshima-Style Okonomiyaki Is Different
Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is quite different from the version most international travelers are familiar with. Outside of Japan, okonomiyaki is usually served Osaka-style, which mixes all the ingredients together before cooking.
Between Osaka and Hiroshima, there’s a long-running and friendly debate about which style is better. While we enjoy both, we’ll admit we’re a little biased toward the Hiroshima style.
Unlike Osaka-style okonomiyaki, Hiroshima-style is cooked in layers rather than mixed together. It also includes noodles, which play an important role in the dish. The noodles absorb moisture from the vegetables, creating a lighter texture with more crunch and contrast in every bite.
If you’d like to try Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki, you’re in luck. There are over 800 okonomiyaki restaurants in Hiroshima alone. Choosing the right one, however, can be confusing, especially if you have specific food preferences. That’s where being guided by a local can make all the difference.
How Okonomiyaki Became Hiroshima’s Soul Food
Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is closely tied to the city’s rebuilding after the atomic bombing in 1945. In the years that followed, food was scarce, and people had to make do with whatever ingredients were available.
Small food stalls began using large iron hot plates, often repurposed from abandoned factories, to cook simple meals. One of these dishes was a very thin pancake topped with a small amount of vegetables and Worcestershire-style sauce. At the time, it was sometimes called “one-coin Western food” because it was cheap, filling, and accessible to everyone.
As Hiroshima gradually rebuilt and ingredients became easier to obtain, these stalls began adding more to the dish. Cabbage, noodles, eggs, and meat were introduced over time, transforming what started as a simple snack into a proper meal. Eventually, it became the okonomiyaki that Hiroshima is known for today and a true staple of the city.
How to eat okonomiyaki properly
Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is typically eaten directly from the hot teppan using a small spatula called a hera. Use the spatula to cut the pancake into bite-sized pieces and place them on a small plate. You can add extra condiments like Japanese mayonnaise or spices to adjust the flavor to your liking. The dish is then eaten with chopsticks.
We often make okonomiyaki at home on our own hotplate. While it isn’t quite big enough to cook for international guests yet, the version we make is our own unique twist on the classic Hiroshima-style dish. Thomas is even creating a special hot sauce just for it, and we crafted our own hera spatulas with our company logo. Every time we cook it, it feels fun, personal, and unmistakably ours.
We highly recommend trying this soul food of Hiroshima. With so many restaurants offering their own unique twist, it can be overwhelming to find the one that matches your food preferences.
Whether you prefer vegan options, gluten-free choices, or want to avoid certain ingredients, being guided by a local can make all the difference. We are confident you will enjoy the dish as much as we do.
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