8 Chugoku region food you need to try

Anchored by Hiroshima and reaching into Okayama, Tottori, Shimane and Yamaguchi, Japan’s Chugoku region is a generous place to follow your appetite. Add it to a classic Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka journey, and the reward is a table bursting with local character and flavour.

The Chugoku region tastes of sea air and mountain water. Here, the Seto Inland Sea brings bounty to the barbecue, the Sea of Japan supplies winter crab. And old castle towns keep sweets, noodles and pressed sushi in delicious circulation. The unique umami of the Chugoku region food offerings stretches from sizzling teppan grills in Hiroshima to soba shops near ancient shrines in Shimane.

At a loss for knowing where to start? Give these eight regional favourites a go first.

1. Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki

A chef makes Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki in Hiroshima, Japan — Hiroshima’s signature Okonomiyaki has been around since the 1950s.(Credit: Getty/ Atosan)

Hiroshima’s signature okonomiyaki, which gained popularity in the 1950s, is surprisingly all about architecture. A crepe-like batter is cooked on the teppan (iron plate or metal griddle), then stacked with shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, pork, egg and noodles – usually yakisoba – before being finished with thick okonomi sauce, mayo, aonori (sea cabbage) and tissue-thin bonito flakes.

Unlike the styles where the ingredients are mixed into the batter, Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is built layer by layer, making each mouthful a perfect combination of soft, sweet, crisp, savoury and smoky.

Where to try it

Okonomimura is a multi-storey okonomiyaki building with more than 20 stalls. Nagata-ya is approachable for first-timers, while Mitchan Dohonten Hatchobori is a long-running name in Hiroshima’s okonomiyaki scene.

2. Okayama’s kibi dango

In Okayama, kibi dango is so much more than a sweet souvenir. These small, soft dumplings are tied to the folk tale of Momotaro, the Peach Boy, who shares them with his travelling companions on the way to defeat demons. The classic version has a gentle, mochi-like bounce. Newer flavours nod to local tastes, including kinako (soybean), brown sugar, matcha, chocolate, sea salt and Okayama’s beloved white peach.

Where to try it

Koeido, founded in 1856, remains one of Okayama’s best-known kibi dango makers. Nakayama Shoyodo offers contemporary combinations, and the keepsake shop Omiyage Kaido at JR Okayama Station is practical for comparing boxes from several producers before deciding and then jumping on the next train.

3. Onomichi ramen

Hiroshima Onomichi Ramen — This signature ramen was invented in the port town of Onomichi.

Onomichi ramen is from the port town of Onomichi in Hiroshima Prefecture, where temples seem to tilt toward the Seto Inland Sea. The bowl is usually built on a soy sauce-based broth, deepened with chicken, dashi or fish. Then served with flat wheat noodles and spring onions, more roasted pork, bamboo shoots and glossy pieces of seabura or pork back fat. It’s unfancy and unshowy, but incredibly flavourful.

Where to try it

Onomichi Ramen Ichibankan sits close to the waterfront. Tsutafuji is a long-standing local favourite, and Onomichi Ramen Maruboshi also earns high praise from locals.

4. Fugu

fugu sashimi and hot pot Chugoku region food — Try fugu sashimi or hot pot. (Credit: Getty/ Green Planet World)

In Yamaguchi Prefecture, especially Shimoneseki, fugu (pufferfish) is treated with precision and respect. This infamous dish is famously poisonous if prepared incorrectly, which is why it’s imperative that it be handled by qualified specialists. On the plate, it’s primarily served as translucent petals of sashimi, though you may also see it in hot pot or fried pieces. It has a subtle flavour and firm, almost springy texture.

Where to try it

Shunpanro in Shimoneseki is known as Japan’s first publicly licensed fugu restaurant. Fuku no Seki at Kamon Wharf offers a more casual setting for fugu dishes in Shimoneseki.

5. Momiji Manju

bean paste Momiji Manju — Try this tasty maple leaf-shaped treat. (Credit: Getty/ Promo Link)

Shaped like a maple leaf, momiji manju is one of Hiroshima Prefecture’s most recognisable sweets. The small cake is associated with Miyajima and has been made for more than a century, traditionally with a red bean paste filling. Today, though, custard, matcha, chocolate and cream cheese versions sit beside the classic and some shops even batter and deep fry them for a warm, crisply-edged treat.

Where to try it

Look for established sweet makers and souvenir shops around Miyajima and Hiroshima city. Nishikido is a well-known producer, while Miyajima’s momiji manju-making experiences offer a hands-on introduction.

6. Matsuba crab

Matsuba Crab on a plate — Head to the markets or local restaurants to enjoy Matsuba crab. (Credit: Tottori Prefecture)

Tottori’s winter tables are closely tied to Matsuba crab, the local name for the male snow crab along the Sea of Japan coast and one of Japan’s ultimate delicacies. In season, generally from November to March, it appears as boiled, barbecued, or in hot pot dishes or as part of a larger multi-course meal. The appeal lies in the sweet delicacy of the meat and the savoury kani miso or crab innards. It’s briny but clean, with a requirement for patience as you eat it.

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Where to try it

Kani Matsuba in Tottori specialises in seasonal Matsuba crab and schedules the winter season around it. Sakaiminato and Tottori Port are also useful areas for seafood markets and restaurants.

7. Izumo soba

Izumo soba local cuisine in Shimane prefecture — Taste the soba of Izumo. (Credit: Getty/ GI15702993)

In Shimane Prefecture, Izumo soba (named after this region) has a darker colour and deeper fragrance because the buckwheat is actually milled with its husk. Cold wariko soba is served in stacked round boxes, and sauce is poured directly over the noodles rather than being used only for dipping. Warm kama-age soba is primarily linked with the area around Izumo Taisha, where fresh-boiled rustic noodles are served with their cooking water for a softer and definitely earthier-tasting bowl.

Where to try it

Arakiya, near Izumo Taisha, is a historic soba restaurant known for wariko soba. Kenjo Soba Haneya and Heiwa Soba are also established names for trying Izumo soba in Shimane.

8. Iwakunizushi

Iwakunizushi shrimp sushi with green tea Chugoku region food — Try this unique take on sushi. (Credit: Getty/ Boonsom)

Iwakunizushi, from Iwakuni in Yamaguchi Prefecture, presses ordinary sushi into a layered and celebrated slice. Sushi rice combines with ingredients like Iwakuni lotus root, shiitake mushrooms and the thinnest threads of egg, where it’s moulded into a wooden container and cut into exacting portions. It’s a beautifully colourful dish, practical and festive, and made for gathering rather than grazing.

Where to try it

Hirasei, near Kintaikyo Bridge, is a long-frequented restaurant serving Iwakunizushi with views toward one of Iwakuni’s signature sights. Cafe Itsutsubashi at the Kintaikyo Bridge Bus Centre is another convenient option.

Start planning your own culinary adventure through Japan at japan.travel.

After youth-led protests in 2025, this year Nepal elected a 35-year-old former rapper as Prime Minister. In a country where tourism is its biggest industry, what’s next for travellers?

In 1986, Nepal changed its clock. It had used India Standard Time since 1920 so, to differentiate, it wound its clock 15 minutes ahead of, not behind, its big-brother neighbour. Boss move. “Nepal is strongly opposed to the idea that our identity is connected to India,” says Community Homestay Network (CHN) guide Bikal Khanal.

Tharu dance is traditionally set to hand drums. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

Today, Nepal is the only independent country with a 45-minute deviation to universal time; an oddity that’s become a symbol of national pride. The quirk is nearly as endearing as Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan airport where carved varnished wood and shiny red bricks rule. One sign points to a ‘Travelator’ and another to a ‘Grievance Handling Desk’ while visas are noisily stamped at customs for US dollars, cash only. When am I?

Spot the endemic Nepal gray langur. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The 15 or 45 minute anomaly sees me tap out completely on timezone calculations. Why bend my brain calculating if it’s quarter to or quarter past elsewhere when I’m in the honking here and now of Kathmandu where the air is high-altitude crisp, the prayer flags flutter and the street dogs howl?

How tourism is changing in Nepal

Bardiya National Park is rich with wildlife. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

India is not the only association many Nepalis would like to shake. With eight of the world’s 10 tallest mountains, including Mount Everest and Annapurna, Nepal has long attracted mountaineers and trekkers, and expedition numbers are continuing to rise.

Tourism is one of the country’s biggest sources of foreign currency, so this growth is not negative, per se. But according to Ang Tshering Lama, who co-founded Phaplu Mountain Bike Club, being reduced to a mere trekking destination is limiting.

“Trekking is just one layer of our identity,” says Ang. “When it becomes the dominant narrative, it limits how we’re seen and how we see ourselves.” Nepal’s recent success, however, in diverting trekkers to less-trafficked areas such as Manaslu mofuntain, where visitor numbers rose by 117 per cent last year, offers hope that tourism can diversify even more radically.

Local men in Bhada village. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

The founder of CHN, Shiva Dhakal, wants that change. “The whole idea of the Community Homestay Network is to promote experiences outside of trekking,” he says. “Community tourism changes lives and helps kids stay home instead of coming to the city or migrating to the Middle East.”

Ang grew up seeing people leave, “not because they wanted to but because there weren’t enough opportunities to stay”, he states. Yet from remote villages to living traditions; food, art, music and emerging subcultures, “there’s so much that’s not being seen.”

CHN is opening some of those doors. It doesn’t own, or fund, any homes. Rather, it promotes homestays to travellers on a single, slick platform, while fostering entrepreneurship in places where women, marginalised castes, Indigenous people and the youth stand to benefit the most.

A new generation demanding more

Dalla Town Hall, where volunteers discuss anti-poaching tactics. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The future prospects of next-gen Nepalis can no longer be ignored. On a Kathmandu tour with 33-year-old guide Monica K.C, we pass buildings torched in the September 2025 ‘Gen Z protests’, including the Supreme Court and Parliament House. Seventy-two people died. “They were anti-corruption protests,” says Monica. “Politicians’ children are living a lavish life but the airports are crowded with youngsters leaving to find work.”

We stop in ‘little Tibet’ at the wondrous sixth-century Boudha Stupa. “The wheel of life is Buddhism in a nutshell,” says Monica. “Things such as hate, ignorance and anger keep you rotating around the wheel, so you must follow the principles of Buddhism to detach. If you can’t, there’s no nirvana for you.”

Boudha Stupa's prayer wheels — Boudha Stupa’s prayer wheels are used to recite Buddhist prayers. (Credit: Kate Lewis)

In a sun-drenched twist to the usual temple visit, we ascend the stupa’s sloping plinth and roam its whitewashed dome. Tendrils of diaphanous prayer flags stream from a steeple-like structure where the Buddha’s unblinking eyes stare out. No nirvana for you…

bouda stupa prayer flags — Tibetan-style prayer flags embellish the whitewashed dome of Bouda Stupa, a Buddhist temple. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

The dome is delightfully free of guard rails or chiding from security. There is, however, a stern ‘No TikTok’ sign, perhaps in response to the youth’s newly flexed power. The booted-out Prime Minister, K.P. Sharma Oli, was replaced in a resounding election victory in March by 35-year-old Balendra Shah of the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) – a former rapper and mayor of Kathmandu. The RSP’s manifesto indicates tourism is a priority, and that Nepal’s cultural identity in areas such as gastronomy will be strengthened.

Boudha Stupa vendors — Vibrant souvenir shops and cafes around Boudha Stupa. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

A more confronting stop awaits at Pashupatinath Temple. Today is Bala Chaturdashi, a Hindu festival where thousands of devotees gather to honour their dead ancestors. Vendors hauling foam mattresses do a lucrative trade as people set up for a night of vigil. This includes burning the bodies of recently deceased relatives on bamboo pyres in the Bagmati River, which flows into the sacred Ganges.

A woman at annual Hindu festival Bala Chaturdashi, in Kathmandu. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Wrapped in a shroud, the bodies are positioned with their heads facing north to the Himalayas where Lord Shiva resides. They’re covered with flowers and straw and set alight by male family members.

Hours later, the ashes are swept into the river where devotees will take a holy dip the next day. As much as Monica assures us it’s not voyeuristic to watch, I struggle to do so. “Here you see the reality of life because everyone ends up there,” she says, gesturing to the river.

Life unfiltered in the Terai region

tharu woman — Tharu woman and master weaver Parbati Chaudhary in Bhada Village. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

The reality of life needs processing time, which the western Terai region delivers in spades. The Terai is largely separated from India by the Karnali River and Bardiya National Park, where elephants, rhinos and the elusive Bengal tiger roam.

Once a nomadic tribe, the Indigenous Tharu people are now the largest ethnic group here. “They didn’t know their daily life was interesting for international travellers but they’re starting to understand now,” says CHN founder Shiva.

Take a Jeep safari through Bardiya National Park. (Credit: Bheem Thapa)

We fly Buddha Air to Dhangadhi airport and drive five hours to stay in Tharu homes. The journey to Bhada village is a blur of roadside fruit stalls, traffic-stopping sacred cows and fields sown with wheat, rice, mustard, spinach, cauliflower and potatoes. Nepal’s agriculture feeds only Nepal.

Marigolds are an important part of Hindu rituals. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

“The only thing we export is young people,” says our guide Bikal. As the light dims and we plunge evermore rural, mysterious mounds of compacted hay – some house-sized – loom like the creatures from Where The Wild Things Are. Even our trusty driver gets flummoxed by a dirt road that abruptly ends and we find ourselves hurtling across a paddock.

On arrival, some are ferried to mud-walled cottages greened by gourd creepers, with thatched roofs and rustic-chic mosquito nets. Myself and two others are ushered to the home of corner store owner, mechanic and mushroom farmer Man Kumar Chilaruwa and his wife Rajkumari.

community homestay entrance — A warm welcome at a community homestay. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

They escort us to a bunker-esque back building with steel doors and a folding security gate, behind which is gleaming linoleum, dolphin-printed tiles and a shower cavity that must be gingerly stepped through to reach the toilet.

The ceiling lights emit a rainbow of colours (the bathroom light gets stuck in, frankly, a quite frightening red). We’re nevertheless touched that our hosts invested in all this bling when the average salary is around $275 a month.

In the coming days, we participate in Tharu traditions such as making moonshine, dancing, weaving straw handicrafts and gold-panning. We’re fed well with staples of rice, mustard greens, lentil pancakes, daal, curried chicken and tomato chutney served on antibacterial saal leaves.

food at community homestay — Dig in. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Sonara community homestay president Indradevi Tharu tells us river snails are often served, and the boiled and pickled flesh of rats hunted in the rice fields. “Perhaps next time?” we say and all have a laugh.

The power of community homestays

community homestay owners in Nepal — Barda community homestay owners Parbati Chaudhary and Ram Krishni Devi Chaudhary. (Credit: Simon Urwin)

Immersing Western visitors in foreign cultural practices is not new. But with the Tharu, I never get that uneasy sensation that I’m being performed for. Despite being the only tourists, there’s no ‘othering’; just warm, composed and ultra-dignified welcomes. Like we’ve always been here.

“I love to have travellers in my village so I can see the world,” says local woman Parbati Chaudhary. “Why would I travel the world when the world comes to me?”

The graceful acceptance the Tharu offer, as well as the slow pace, works miracles on my frazzled nervous system. One day I even take a nap on a vacant homestay bed.

Sonara community room — An authentic stay in the Sonara community. (Credit: Kate Hennessy)

Roosters strut and goats bray as we sit on the ground in al fresco kitchens, rolling rice flour into cylinders steamed to make dhikri (dumplings). When water is needed, we fetch it using a hand-operated pump as a family of ducks strolls by, side-eying us like curious neighbours.

Animal lovers will delight in Tharu villages. Kind and resourceful inventions are everywhere, such as snacking stations where two posts lean together, with leafy boughs dangling on rope for baby goats to forage from.

CHN’s CEO, Aayusha Prasain, nods knowingly when one in our group says she cried when she left her host, Shayam Chaudhary, in Bhada. Shayam’s 17-year-old son, Prashant, had translated, which deepened the connection.

“Community tourism turns travel into a relationship, not a transaction,” says Aayusha. “It places decision-making power in the hands of local communities, especially women and youth.” Since 2018, CHN has hosted more than 4000 travellers from 52 countries in 408 households, and estimates women’s participation has increased by 381 per cent.

In the Bardiya community, where vexing human-animal conflict has been a balancing act for decades due to elephants raiding crops, long-time homestay operator Salik Ram Chaudhary says young people keep the older ones on their toes.

“We can’t keep homestays stagnant,” he says. “We have to upgrade our service and redefine our product or young people won’t see it as an attractive business. If we can keep evolving with this travelling trend we’re confident the youths will stay and continue it.”

Back in Kathmandu, Monica explains that after the deaths of young protestors in September, a determination had spread to not let their sacrifice be in vain. “We want to keep holding the government accountable,” she says. “We don’t know what situation we’re facing, but we’re ready to face it.”

Interested in Nepal but prefer to experience it in total comfort? Read our guide to luxury travel in Nepal.

8 culinary delights to try in the Chugoku region of Japan

Anchored by Hiroshima and reaching into Okayama, Tottori, Shimane and Yamaguchi, Japan’s Chugoku region is a generous place to follow your appetite. Add it to a classic Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka journey, and the reward is a table bursting with local character and flavour.

1. Hiroshima-style Okonomiyaki

Where to try it

2. Okayama’s kibi dango

Where to try it

3. Onomichi ramen

Where to try it

4. Fugu

Where to try it

5. Momiji Manju

Where to try it

6. Matsuba crab

Where to try it

7. Izumo soba

Where to try it

8. Iwakunizushi

Where to try it

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These community homestays are changing how travellers experience Nepal

After youth-led protests in 2025, this year Nepal elected a 35-year-old former rapper as Prime Minister. In a country where tourism is its biggest industry, what’s next for travellers?

How tourism is changing in Nepal

A new generation demanding more

Life unfiltered in the Terai region

The power of community homestays

Weekly travel news, experiences
insider tips, offers, and more.

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