Onomichi by Ropeway and Footpath: A Quiet Slope-Town Day

Onomichi packs its whole townscape into a small pocket of ground between the sea and the mountains. Many temples line the middle of the hillside, and narrow steps and lanes thread between them, so walking here means climbing as much as strolling. From the observation deck at the summit you see the whole town below you and the islands of the Seto Inland Sea across the water. On a fine day the view runs past the Onomichi Channel and the islands of the Shimanami Kaido to the mountains of Shikoku.

Up the Ropeway to the Summit Park

A short ride on the Senkoji Mountain Ropeway carries you to the summit of Senkoji Park, and the strolling begins at the top. From the observation deck you see the whole of Onomichi city at once, with the islands of the Seto Inland Sea spread across the water, and on a clear day the Shikoku mountain range shows far beyond them.

An elevator inside the deck makes the view easy to reach for anyone who would rather ride than climb. Below the park the townscape runs along the Onomichi Channel, and past it the islands of the Shimanami Kaido make a seascape of many islands. After dark the park turns into a night-view spot, looking out over the Onomichi Channel.

In spring cherry blossoms and azaleas bloom across the park, and in early summer wisteria hangs in purple and pink. The park holds more than the view: the Onomichi City Museum of Art stands within it, and the Literary Path begins at the summit. Several points around the park, among them the area near the west observation deck, are recognised sketching spots where painters have set the view down on paper.

The Literary Path to Senkoji

From the summit, the way down to Senkoji is the Literary Path, a mountain path where twenty-five natural stones stand carved with verses. Each stone carries a passage or poem left by a writer connected with Onomichi, so the descent becomes a slow reading as much as a stroll. The temple itself sits on the mid-slope of the hill, and the park is laid out around it, so you wander through parkland on the way down to it.

Senkoji belongs to the Shingon sect and is said to have been founded by Kobo Daishi. Its main hall is a vermilion-lacquered building raised in the stage style, and the precincts also hold a Daishi-do hall and a rock with a name of its own. The main hall is said to enshrine an image of the thousand-armed bodhisattva of compassion, which tradition attributes to Prince Shotoku.

Listen for the bell: the sound from the temple's bell tower was chosen as one of the hundred soundscapes of Japan. Wander the precincts and you see a group of boulders of many shapes; several slope paths and stairways link the town below with the temple hill, so there is more than one way to stroll down. Guided tours of Onomichi are another way to take in the temple hill.

A Pagoda, Many Faces and the Old Temple Walk

On the slope below Senkoji stands a three-storied pagoda belonging to a temple on the hillside, designated a National Important Cultural Property. Views framed through this pagoda appear again and again as the representative scene of Onomichi, so the first sight of it may already look familiar. It is said to have been a five-storied pagoda when it was built, though three storeys stand today.

At the same temple you see five hundred and twenty-six statues, every face rich in expression and each one different from the next. Visitors wander among them looking for the statue that resembles themselves, a small game that turns the gathering of figures into a mirror. In spring peonies bloom in the grounds, and the temple holds regular early-morning Zen meditation sessions.

The Old Temple Walk strings the temples of the town together along a stone-paved lane, and stone pillars stand along it to show which temple to wander toward next. A seven-temple circuit adds a purpose to the strolling: at the first temple you buy a stamp book, at each of the seven you collect a stamp or a bracelet of prayer beads, and a commemorative gift waits for anyone who completes the set.

Jodo-ji and a Clay Buddha of Your Own

Jodo-ji is said to have been founded by Prince Shotoku, and its story continues in the rear garden, where a tea house is said to have been moved here from Fushimi Castle in Kyoto. Standing before it, you are looking at a building that tradition carries from a castle to a temple garden.

At Jiko-ji the visit becomes something you make with your own hands and feel taking shape. The temple offers Nigiri-botoke, a clay Buddha you shape yourself: you grip clay set on a stick and feel the squeeze of your fingers give the figure its form, then draw a face to complete it. The head priest teaches the steps kindly, even to people who have never tried, and temple staff show you how the figure is made.

Once your Buddha is finished, it is fired at the temple and sent on to your home, so what arrives later is a small figure holding the shape of your grip and the story of the day you made it. The session takes about thirty minutes, short enough to fit between two temples on the same walk.

A Film Storehouse, a Merchant Hall and Noodles

Step into the Onomichi Film Archive and you see a storehouse that once served as a warehouse, renovated into a museum of film materials. Inside, the exhibits are the working materials of film-making, set out within walls that were built to hold goods.

The Onomichi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Memorial Hall is a renovated and restored building that you can wander from floor to floor. On the first floor you see an exhibition of materials and a tourist information corner; on the second and third floors the building rises into an atrium, with an assembly hall arranged in tiered steps.

Eat before you leave. Onomichi ramen is built on a seafood-based soup with plenty of pork back fat floating on the surface, and the octopus caught in nearby waters comes firm and plump. For one more indoor stop, you can view exhibitions at the Onomichi City Museum of Art inside Senkoji Park.

Getting to Onomichi

From	To	Time
JR Onomichi Station	Senkoji Mountain Ropeway base station	about 15 minutes on foot
Onomichi Station bus stop 1 or 5	Nagae-guchi bus stop	about 5 minutes by bus
Ropeway base station (Sanroku Station)	Ropeway summit (Sancho Station)	3 minutes by ropeway
JR Onomichi Station	Senkoji Park	about 10 minutes by taxi
Senkoji Park parking lot	Summit observation deck and Senkoji	about 5 to 10 minutes on foot
JR Onomichi Station	Old Temple Walk	about 1 minute on foot
JR Onomichi Station	Temple with the three-storied pagoda	15 minutes on foot
Ropeway base station	Temple with the three-storied pagoda	3 minutes on foot
Ropeway base station	Jodo-ji	about 20 minutes on foot
JR Onomichi Station	Jodo-ji (bus stop in front of the temple)	about 7 minutes by eastbound bus
JR Onomichi Station	Jiko-ji	5 minutes on foot
JR Onomichi Station	Onomichi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Memorial Hall	5 minutes on foot along the shopping street
Onomichi city hall	Onomichi Film Archive	1 minute on foot

New to rural buses and one-man trains? See how to ride them, step by step.

Hours and Fees

What	Fare or time	Note
Senkoji Mountain Ropeway, one-way	500 yen adult, 250 yen child
Senkoji Mountain Ropeway, round trip	700 yen adult, 350 yen child
Bus, Onomichi Station to Nagae-guchi	150 yen adult, 80 yen child
Elevator inside observation deck PEAK	9:00 to 17:15
Senkoji Park parking, standard car	800 yen per day	1,000 yen on weekends and holidays
Literary Path, walking time	about 30 minutes or more
Jodo-ji, regular interior admission	300 yen adult	150 yen elementary and junior high school students
Jodo-ji, special interior admission	800 yen adult	400 yen elementary and junior high school students
Jodo-ji treasure hall	400 yen
Jodo-ji hours	8:00 to 17:00
Nigiri-botoke clay Buddha at Jiko-ji	2,000 yen	shipping charged separately
Nigiri-botoke session hours	8:00 to 16:30
Nigiri-botoke session length	about 30 minutes
Old Temple Walk temples	roughly 8:00 to 17:00	varies by temple
Seven-temple course	about 3 hours or more
Onomichi City Museum of Art, feature exhibition	310 yen general
Onomichi City Museum of Art, feature exhibition	210 yen student
Onomichi City Museum of Art hours	9:00 to 17:00	last admission 16:30
Onomichi Film Archive, general admission	520 yen	junior high school students and younger free
Onomichi Film Archive, groups of 20 or more	420 yen
Onomichi Film Archive hours	10:00 to 18:00	admission until 17:30
Onomichi Film Archive, closed	Tuesdays	next day if Tuesday is a holiday; also December 28 to January 3
Onomichi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Memorial Hall, admission	free	use of the 2F assembly hall is paid
Onomichi Chamber of Commerce and Industry Memorial Hall hours	10:00 to 18:00

If one day on the slope leaves temples unvisited, places to stay in Onomichi are listed for a second day.