ONOMICHI

I can't remember how i got to know about Onomichi, but this charming city that tends to stay discreet is therefore often overlooked, especially by foreign visitors. It still attracts many Japanese visitors, mostly because it serves as the starting or ending point of the Shimanami Kaido, a 70km trail going trough 6 islands of the Seto Inland Sea, connected by bridges from here to Imabari on Shikoku. This trail is popular for cycling and you can find numerous bicycle rental shops both in the city and along the trail.

If you're already planning to visit Hiroshima or Miyajima, I strongly recommend to make some time and stop by Onomichi for at least one day, as it's usually on the way of visitors coming from Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto by train. And this city actually became one of my favorite in Japan. This is personally the kind of place I'm looking for when travelling; no big attractions, no crowds, a sense of authenticity, nostalgia and tons of charming and photogenic small winding streets. Nestled along the inland sea, the older part and most charming of the city is built on a cliff that gives amazing views and perspectives at every corner.

In the older part of the city, you will stumble upon a lot of temples and shrines and hidden path that are really fun to explore and get lost in. You can also decide to follow the temple walk, a cobblestone path that will lead you through the 25 temples of the city. It's probably not necessary to visit them all but I'd recommend to visit at least the Senkō-ji, the Tennin-ji and the Saikoku-ji. They offer amazing views on the whole town, the sea and the islands facing it. Especially the Senkō-ji, and the park just next to it which are placed on the highest point of the city. And because the path leading to it get really steep, it's also accessible by cable car. The Misode Tenman-gu is also worth visiting for that. It's a shrine located a few minutes away from the ropeway station. Like the other shrines and temples here it got tons of charms and offers another beautiful view. Going to one of those for the sunset would be a great way to end the day.  

Another stop to make in the old city would be the Cat Alley or Neko no Hosomichi. Located next to the Tennin-ji, these are even smaller streets filled with cat statues and all sorts of hand-made creations by local artists, often representing cats exposed around buildings made of salvage material thrown together. I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the place and looking for all the small details hidden everywhere was really fun! You might even spot some real cats wandering around, as they are part of the neighborhood, roaming among visitors. And if you’re looking for a spot to relax, check out the House of Onomichi Ihatovu-owl. This is the kind of place that feels completely frozen in time and adrift from reality. It embodies pretty well the atmosphere of those streets at the only exception that for some reasons, they themed it out of owls instead of cats.

As said earlier, the Senkō-ji or "Thousand Lights Temple" offers a beautiful view on the bay and the islands around. It was founded in 806 to be one of the first temples of the Shingon Buddhism school. It is built on the side of a mountain around a huge rock that is famous due to a legend associated with it.   

According to the legend, this rock once held a very bright jewel at its peak, visible from a great distance and even at night. However, one day an emperor from a foreign land ordered his men to steal the precious gem. But when transporting it to their boat, they accidentally dropped it in the sea and the jewel was lost forever. It has been replaced by a stone sphere placed on the top of this rock and is illuminated at night to resemble the legendary gem.

This sphere is even visible from the city center. Can you spot it on the picture below ?

Onomichi is easily accessible by train with its two stations. There's Onomichi Station in the city center, using the San-yo Line, a slower and cheaper train usually linking Hiroshima to Okayama and stopping by Onomichi. And Shin-Onomichi Station a bit farther in the north of the city using the high speed Sanyo Shinkansen line. When coming by the shinkansen from Kyoto, Osaka or Tokyo, there's just a small change to make at Fukuyama for the San-yo Line.