What Is Onomichi? Temples, Cats and a Walk Up the Hillside
This guide is for visitors who want to know what Onomichi is like and how to spend a few hours walking it. It uses the Onomichi area page of Visit Shimanami and the Onomichi walking course in the official Hiroshima travel guide, Dive! Hiroshima. All pages were read on 2026-10-04.
The short answer
Visit Shimanami describes Onomichi as the gateway to the Shimanami Kaido, a port town full of retro ambience with a history stretching back to the Middle Ages. It is a town of temples, hillside lanes and cats, and it has been used as a location for many Japanese films.
What the town is like
The area page says funky little shops and eateries are hidden in the maze of alleys between the waterfront and the 1,100 meter shopping arcade, and among tightly packed houses on the steep hillsides. It names the Shichibutsu Meguri, a walking route connecting seven major temples, and says you are sure to meet cats lounging in the alleys. Senkoji Temple is the most popular of the temples. A ropeway reaches it, passing over a camphor tree at Ushitora Shrine that the page calls 900 years old and over the Neko-no-hosomichi, the Cat Alley. Above it, a modern observation platform called The Peak gives views of Onomichi and Mukaishima across the strait.
Onomichi has a newer side too: U2, a converted waterfront warehouse containing a hotel, a bakery, a cafe and restaurant, a bicycle shop and a souvenir shop. The page also suggests the town's ramen, a craft beer at the local brewery and organic tea.
A four-hour walk from the station
The Dive! Hiroshima site publishes a relaxing walking course of about four hours that starts at Onomichi Station:
- Jikoji Temple, about 30 minutes. Known as the Hydrangea Temple because the flowers bloom in the rainy season, and for a workshop where visitors make a Buddha from clay.
- Ropeway Sanroku Station, about 3 minutes by ropeway. The page says the town is seen below in a three-minute aerial walk, and baggage storage is available at the station.
- Senkoji Park, about 60 minutes. The vermilion main hall and the bell tower, which was selected as one of the 100 best sound scenes of Japan to keep, are the symbols. In spring the park is decorated with cherry blossoms from a list of Japan's top 100 cherry blossom spots.
- Onomichi Cinema Museum, about 30 minutes. A projector stands at its entrance, and a mini theater shows digests of films shot in the town.
- Jodoji Temple, about 30 minutes. A temple linked to the Ashikaga family, with a tea room that the page says was moved from Fushimi Castle and is a national Important Cultural Property.
Walking times between stops are about 20 minutes (Jikoji to the ropeway), 12 minutes (Senkoji Park to the museum) and 10 minutes (museum to Jodoji), according to the page.
Plan a stay, not only a stop
Visit Shimanami suggests spending a day or two in Onomichi, especially after riding the Shimanami Kaido, to relax and eat. The rental cycle terminal is just by the station, and from the port a 10-minute ferry crosses to Mukaishima Island, where the Shimanami Kaido's Blue Line begins.
Next door: Mukaishima
Mukaishima lies across a channel of only 200 to 300 meters from the Onomichi waterfront, and the area page says boats carry commuters, schoolchildren and cyclists across all day. The island's loop is about 20 km. Visit Shimanami mentions a small shrine on Iwashijima beside the Blue Line whose gate appears to float at high tide, a chocolate factory and cafe in a former office building, and an observation platform on 283-meter Mt. Takamiyama with views of the Innoshima Bridge. The page says you may have the shrine to yourself.
What we could not verify, and therefore left out
- Opening hours and fees of the temples, ropeway and museum, which the pages do not give.
- Whether all five stops are open on your date.
- Which cafes and shops are currently open in the alleys.
Related guides
- How do you get to Onomichi by Shinkansen, train, bus and airport shuttle?
- How do you rent a bike for the Shimanami Kaido in Onomichi? Prices, terminals and the Cycle Ship
Sources
All URLs retrieved 2026-10-04.
- Onomichi (Visit Shimanami) — (town, temples, cats)
- Onomichi Station walking course (Dive! Hiroshima) — (five stops)