Onomichi & the Setoda Islands: Hillside Temples, the Shimanami Sea & a Merchant-House Ryokan — 2 Days

A long-running shop serving the town's signature ramen — a clear soy-based soup built on a small-fish stock from the Inland Sea, topped with squares of pork back-fat and flat noodles. A defining, unpretentious first taste of Onomichi, a few minutes from the station along the harbour.

Around ¥700–1,000 a bowl (approx., 2026); roughly 11:00–18:00, closed Fridays. Expect a short queue at lunch; cash is safest at the smaller shops.

A short cable-car ride from the base near the shrine up to the summit park of Senkoji-yama, rising over the tiled rooftops of the old town to a panorama of the strait, the bridges and the islands beyond. The standard way up; most visitors ride up and walk the temple lane back down.

Round trip around ¥700, one-way ¥500 adult (approx., 2026); roughly 9:00–17:15, runs every 15 minutes. Buy a one-way up if you plan to walk the temple lane down.

A vermilion temple founded in 806, clinging to the rocks on the slope of Senkoji-yama with the Inland Sea spread below, its red main hall a landmark of the Onomichi skyline. From here the 'temple walk' threads downhill through some twenty-five temples, stone lanes, literary monuments and the cats the town is loved for.

Temple grounds free; open through the day. Allow over an hour for the walk down to the town — the lanes are steep and uneven, so wear proper shoes. The Path of Literature passes famous viewpoints.

A 1940s harbour warehouse reborn as a cyclists' complex on the water — a cycle-friendly hotel, a bakery and café, a bar, a restaurant and a bike shop, all under one long roof at the Onomichi end of the Shimanami Kaido. The natural place for an afternoon coffee and to arrange a bicycle for the islands.

Shops and café roughly 10:00–19:00 (approx., 2026); a five-minute walk west of Onomichi station along the water. Rental bikes for the Shimanami Kaido are available here — reserve ahead in peak season.

A 1960s apartment block on the temple-walk slope, reimagined by the Indian studio Bijoy Jain / Studio Mumbai into a six-room boutique hotel of hand-finished plaster, soft earth tones, a garden, a café and a bar with a view over the rooftops to the sea. The design anchor of an Onomichi stay.

Rooms from roughly ¥38,000 (approx., 2026); check-in 15:00–20:00. Café roughly 11:00–17:00, bar to 23:00. A short uphill walk from the station on the temple lane; bags can be sent ahead.

An extravagant temple complex built from the 1930s by a steel-magnate-turned-priest in memory of his mother, its buildings recreating famous temples and gates from across Japan in vivid colour. Beneath it runs 'A Thousand Buddhas Cave', a winding underground passage of carved deities — eccentric, sincere and unlike anywhere else in the region.

Grounds adult around ¥1,400 (approx., 2026); roughly 9:00–17:00. Admission includes the marble hilltop and the museum within the grounds; allow at least 90 minutes for both.

A hilltop garden of pure white Carrara marble above Kosanji, created by the sculptor Kuetani Itto from some 3,000 tonnes of Italian stone — abstract towers, terraces and a café, dazzling against the blue of the Inland Sea. A startling, photogenic contrast to the temple's colour below.

Included with Kosanji admission; same hours. The hilltop café serves a gelato made with Setoda lemons. Shade is scarce among the white stone — bring water and a hat in summer.

A museum on Ikuchijima devoted to the Setoda-born painter Hirayama Ikuo, a master of modern Nihonga whose Silk Road paintings made him one of Japan's most beloved 20th-century artists. The calm, low building holds his childhood sketches and his luminous large-scale works, a quiet hour after the temple's exuberance.

Adult around ¥1,000 (approx., 2026); roughly 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30). A short walk from Kosanji; lunch on the Setoda shopping street between the two — try the lemon dishes the island is known for.

The debut property of the Azumi brand, founded by Aman's creator Adrian Zecha — a restored 140-year-old merchant compound on Ikuchijima with around 22 rooms, an onsen bathhouse across the lane, and a kitchen built on Setouchi seafood and Setoda citrus. The finest stay in the islands and a destination in its own right.

Rooms from roughly ¥60,000/person (approx., 2026 — books out far ahead). The sister bathhouse Yubune sits opposite. A few minutes' walk from the Setoda pier and shopping street.