Experience the best of Onomichi

Onomichi squeezes between steep green hills and a narrow strait of the Seto Inland Sea in Hiroshima Prefecture, its houses and some two dozen temples stacked up the slope. The Temple Walk links them by stairways and lanes, and Senkoji Park, on the summit, has a ropeway and views over the roofs and ships. A Path of Literature, with poems carved into boulders, winds down the hillside, and Cat Alley is lined with cat-themed art.

The Shimanami Kaido, a chain of bridges and island roads, leads from the waterfront to Imabari on Shikoku and is one of Japan's best cycling routes. Along it, Setoda on Ikuchijima has the temple of Kosanji and a museum of paintings by Hirayama Ikuo, and Omishima has the great Oyamazumi shrine. Onomichi is also the setting of Ozu's film Tokyo Story, and its old streets feature in many other Japanese films.

Onomichi ramen has a clear soy broth made with fish stock and topped with a layer of pork fat. Hiroshima Prefecture is Japan's leading lemon grower, and the islands offer lemon cakes and sorbets, while oysters from Hiroshima Bay are a winter treat. Cherry blossom in early April and autumn colour suit cycling better than the humid summer.