Miyajima Restaurants: Where to Eat Oysters, Anago Rice & Momiji

Miyajima’s food comes down to four things: grilled oysters, anago-meshi (conger eel on rice), momiji manju (maple-leaf cakes, including the deep-fried “age-momiji”) and Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. Most of the places to try them are on the Omotesando shopping street between the ferry pier and Itsukushima Shrine, about a 10-minute walk. The catch is the clock: most shops open around 10:00 and close around 17:00, the popular anago and okonomiyaki places stop taking orders by mid-afternoon, and there is very little open on the island in the evening.

So the real question on Miyajima is what to eat for lunch and when to go. Below is a table of where to eat each speciality, what it costs and when it is open, then how to choose and avoid the queues, what to do about dinner, and a rough budget for the day. Opening hours and prices come from each shop’s own website, or from the Miyajima Tourist Association where a shop has none, checked in October 2026; they change, so check before a special trip.

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Miyajima food at a glance

Grilled oysters: two specialists, and street stalls

Oysters are Miyajima’s best-known food, and two places specialise in them. Kakiya (539 Miyajima-cho, about 10 minutes from the pier) is open every day, 10:00 to about 16:00 on weekdays and to about 18:00 at weekends and on holidays, until the oysters run out, and takes no reservations. Grilled oysters start at 750 yen for two, the Kakiya set meal is 2,900 yen, and raw oysters (two from 1,150 yen) are a seasonal item from November to the end of March; it also has a long list of wine. Yakigaki no Hayashi (505-1 Miyajima-cho, about 8 minutes from the pier), founded in 1948, is open 10:30–17:00 (last order 16:30; hours vary by season) and closed on Wednesdays, with no table reservations. Two grilled oysters are 1,500 yen, kaki-meshi (oyster rice) 1,600 yen and an oyster rice bowl 2,000 yen.

If you just want a taste, you will also see oysters being grilled at shop fronts along the shopping street. How the two specialists compare, raw oysters and the oyster festival are in Miyajima oysters.

Anago-meshi: the dish most likely to have a queue

Anago is a slim sea eel, lighter than the grilled freshwater eel (unagi) you may know. Grilled anago laid over rice cooked in stock is Miyajima’s local dish, anago-meshi. The most famous place, Anagomeshi Ueno, has been making it since 1901 and is not on the island but in Miyajimaguchi, on the mainland side of the ferry. Its ground-floor restaurant is open 10:00–19:00 (to 18:00 on Wednesdays) and takes no reservations; bento boxes are sold from 9:00 (they can be reserved), and both close when sold out. You can take a bento onto the ferry, but keep it away from the deer.

On the island:

• Okimitsu: a teahouse in a 100-year-old house with 18 seats. Anago-meshi 2,400 yen, a green-tea soba set with a small anago rice and a sweet 2,200 yen, and its best-seller, warabi-mochi, 650 yen. Open 10:00–15:00, closing earlier when it sells out; closing days follow a monthly calendar (in October 2026 every Tuesday, plus a few other days). No reservations. More on Okimitsu.
• Kiyomori Chaya: run by the same family for three generations since 1955. The Kiyomori set of anago rice with tempura udon or soba is 1,820 yen and an anago rice bowl 2,480 yen. Open 10:30–17:00; after 17:00 it will prepare food and drinks if you book. Oyster dishes in winter only. More on Kiyomori Chaya.

Other anago places and what makes the dish are in Miyajima anago rice.

Okonomiyaki: two long-running favourites

Mato-chan is the better known of the two. According to the Miyajima Tourist Association it is open 11:00–16:00 (last order 15:00) and closed on Tuesdays, and on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays it also opens 17:00–21:00 (last order 20:00), one of the few places on the island to eat in the evening. More on Mato-chan.

Kurawanka (589-5 Miyajima-cho, just before Miyajima post office) has been cooking since 1991. Its Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki starts at 1,000 yen, with mochi 1,200 yen, cheese 1,300 yen, shrimp 1,600 yen and oyster 1,900 yen. It is open 11:00–16:00 and closed on Wednesdays (open on public holidays, and open every day in May, August and November). More on Kurawanka.

Momiji manju and age-momiji: snacks to eat as you walk

Momiji manju, a small sponge cake shaped like a maple leaf, is Miyajima’s classic souvenir; at Momijido one cake is 140 yen. Fujiiya‘s main shop (1129 Miyajima-cho; shop 9:30–17:30) also has a café, 9:30–17:00, serving Japanese sweets such as zenzai. Its dry-sweet (higashi) making workshop has no date set at the moment, so check its website. For the original cheese momiji, go to Miyatoyo‘s main shop, which still bakes by hand. Shops and flavours are compared in momiji manju in Miyajima.

Age-momiji, momiji manju fried to order, is Momijido‘s speciality: 250 yen each in five flavours (red bean, cream, cheese, Setouchi lemon and no-bake cheesecake), ready in about three minutes. The main shop opens at 9:00 and the second shop at 9:30, both until about 17:30 depending on the season, with irregular closing days; there is also a counter at etto in Miyajimaguchi. More on age-momiji.

Breakfast, coffee and sweets

• Kissa Shima (588 Miyajima-cho): fresh bread and seasonal desserts, 8:30–17:00, closed on Wednesdays; the morning set is its recommendation. More on Kissa Shima.
• Shimauma Pan: the bakery inside Hotel Miyajima Villa, 9:00–17:00 (varies by season); you can eat its bread at Kura Vitto, the hotel’s bar. Closed 14–18 December 2026 for hotel maintenance. More on Shimauma Pan.
• Furaido: a roasted chestnut and sweet potato shop known for its Miyajima-only maple butter sandwich cookies. More on Furaido.
• Coffee: see Itsuki Coffee and Tenshin-kaku.
• A sit-down meal: Les Clos, a restaurant in a house completed in 1912, serves lunch courses from 4,400 yen (11:30–15:00) and dinner courses from 8,000 yen (17:00–20:00, booked in principle three days ahead); it has irregular closing days. More on Les Clos.
• Beer: Miyajima Brewery pours its own beer on Omotesando, 10:30–17:00.

When to go: eating around the crowds

The shopping street is busiest around midday, when the popular lunch places have queues. Three ways round it:

• Go at opening time, or after 14:00. But remember that many places stop serving at 15:00–16:00; Okimitsu closes at 15:00.
• Split lunch in two. Have a grilled oyster and an age-momiji on the street first, and sit down for anago-meshi once the rush has passed.
• Eat along your route. Visit the shrine in the morning, eat near the shrine exit at midday, then head on to Momijidani and the ropeway. A timed plan for the day is in our Miyajima day trip guide.

Please eat at the shop front, inside or at a rest area rather than while walking, and do not hold food in front of the deer, who will come for paper bags as well as food. Shops along the street are listed in Miyajima Omotesando shopping street.

What about dinner?

The shopping street closes in the late afternoon and few places serve dinner. Mato-chan opens in the evening on Fridays to Sundays, Kiyomori Chaya will cook after 17:00 if you book, and Les Clos serves dinner by reservation. So:

• On a day trip: eat lunch and snacks on the island and have dinner back in Miyajimaguchi or Hiroshima. At etto, the shopping building by the Miyajimaguchi ferry, the street-level floor (1F) is open 10:00–18:00 and the upper floor (2F) 11:00–19:00, with Hiroshima ramen and okonomiyaki upstairs; Anagomeshi Ueno is open until 19:00 (18:00 on Wednesdays). More in Miyajimaguchi.
• Staying the night: many island inns offer dinner plans, so you can eat at the inn. For kaiseki with oysters, anago and Hiroshima beef, look at Kinsuikan or Miyajima Grand Hotel Arimoto; for a buffet with free drinks, Hotel Miyajima Villa.

How much to budget for food

Ferry, train and admission costs for the whole day are in the day trip guide.

Frequently asked questions

What food is Miyajima famous for?

Grilled oysters, anago-meshi (conger eel rice), momiji manju (including fried age-momiji) and Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki. If you only have time for one meal, have oysters in season (November to March) and anago-meshi the rest of the year.

Are there restaurants on Miyajima Island?

Yes, plenty for lunch, mostly on the Omotesando shopping street and around the shrine, but most close by about 17:00. In the evening, Mato-chan opens on Fridays to Sundays, and Kiyomori Chaya and Les Clos serve dinner by reservation.

How much are grilled oysters on Miyajima?

From 750 yen for two at Kakiya and 1,500 yen for two at Yakigaki no Hayashi (tax included).

Do I need to queue for anago-meshi?

At popular places around midday, often. Go at opening time or after 14:00, but note that Okimitsu closes at 15:00. Neither Okimitsu nor Ueno’s restaurant takes reservations; Ueno’s bento can be reserved.

What time do restaurants close on Miyajima?

Most shops on the shopping street close around 17:00, and anago and okonomiyaki places stop taking orders earlier (Kurawanka closes at 16:00, Okimitsu at 15:00).

Can I eat while walking on Miyajima?

Please finish your food at the shop front, inside or at a rest area, both for the crowds and because the deer approach anyone holding food.

Sources: each shop’s official website or official Instagram (Kakiya, Yakigaki no Hayashi, Anagomeshi Ueno, Okimitsu, Kiyomori Chaya, Kurawanka, Fujiiya, Momijido, Hotel Miyajima Villa for Shimauma Pan, Les Clos, etto, Miyatoyo, Furaido); Miyajima Tourist Association (Mato-chan’s hours and evening opening, Kissa Shima). Checked October 2026. Prices include tax and may change.