Zona Italia

A beautiful restaurant with great food and an amazing view! Zona Italia is located in Itsukaichi which is near Hiroshima city. I have been going to this beautiful restaurant for a few years now, and it never disappoints. The food, the view, and the service have been wonderful every time.




They have an English menu and a couple of people on their staff speak English. Definitely a plus!


I do recommend that you go with the set. You get some appetizers, your choice of pasta or pizza, garlic bread (all-you-can-eat), a dessert, and a drink. The sets run anywhere from around 3,500yen and up. The cost depends on which pasta or pizza you choose. We all ordered the set and before we knew it they were bringing out our appetizers.

This was the view from our table that we enjoyed while we were waiting....

Just had to throw that out there. Great view.


....and then they brought out our first appetizer.

If you don't like fish or cannot eat fish, they are more than happy to substitute with something else. Just let them know when you place your order.


...and then our second appetizer



...and then our third appetizer


Did I mention the garlic bread?


One of the pastas that we ordered.

I believe this was the eggplant and ricotta cheese pasta. Yum!

One of the pizzas that we ordered...

This pizza was pretty amazing. It had homemade sausage on it.

Now it's time for dessert!



This really is a great restaurant for a date night. Great food and great view!

Here is a shot of the front entrance area -



If you are going on a weekend, I highly recommend reservations.

Their phone number is - (0825) 27-2311

To get to this amazing restaurant, I usually take the expressway to Hatsukaichi. Once you exit the expressway, go to the left. You'll be on this road for a little while (20-30 minutes). The exit for Zona is the one after the Shoko Center exit. I can't remember the name of it, but I know it's the one after the Shoko Center (which is the exit for AlPark Mall). When you exit, turn left at the light. Go straight and you should see a sign on your right at the next intersection. Turn right and follow the road up for a minute, and you should see Zona Italia on your right. They do have a decent amount of parking. You can also just hop on the 2 the whole way, but I prefer taking the expressway part of the way. From Otake to Hatsukaichi is only about 500yen so the cost isn't too bad.

TAJ Indian Restaurant

I had bread class on Saturday and we didn't get back until around 5:30pm. I wasn't very hungry because we ate a late lunch and it seemed like our lunch lasted forever. Honestly, I was thinking I would be able to just skip dinner.

BUT....by 7:30pm I was starting to get hungry. Jason called me and when I mentioned dinner, he said he was kind of hungry too. Then somehow TAJ came up in our conversation about dinner. The next thing I knew, we were on our way to TAJ.

Jason had never been, and I had only been once before so we were both pretty excited. I even remembered to grab my camera so I could get pictures for my blog post.

AND!!!! I remembered to take a picture of the outside!!!


The first time I went to TAJ I ordered the eggplant curry. Oh. My. Goodness. Very yummy!

Jason and I looked over the menu and we decided to order a few different dishes and share everything. So, we ordered the Shrimp Salad, Chicken Tikka, Chicken Masala Curry, Garlic Nan, and Almond Nan.


Shrimp Salad


Chicken Tikka


Almond Nan


Chicken Masala Curry (level "HOT")


Garlic Nan

Everything we ordered was very tasty. Their curry seems more tomato based compared to other Indian restaurants I have been to, but it was very good. I don't think we had anything left when we were done. Hmmm....maybe I should have taken a picture of our plates after we were done. Empty plates are always a good sign.

Their menu is in English too, which is another plus.


They are open for lunch from 1100-1430, and then for dinner from 1700-2130. Their phone number is (0827)23-6709. They do speak English.

To get to this wonderful Indian Restaurant, go out Main Gate. At the first light turn right. Follow that road and go over the bridge. Pass Mike's Tex Mex, and at the 2nd light after Mike's, turn left. Go up the loopy over pass. At the light, turn right (like you're heading to the train station). When you get to the rotary, make sure you are in the left lane. As you're going by the rotary, you'll see Coco Curry on your left. Turn left down the street right next to Coco Curry. Follow that road all the way to the end. At that light, you should be able to see TAJ across the street. They do have parking available. If you know your way around Route 2, TAJ is located right off the 2, going away from McDonald's towards Otake.

If you like eggplant, I say go for the eggplant curry! The Chicken Masala was very yummy too though. Personally, I like to order different dishes and share them with my dinner date. The prices are pretty reasonable too. I think for everything we ordered, it was about 2,000yen. According to their sign outside, they also offer sets where you can get chicken curry or pork curry and nan or rice for 790yen. Not bad at all.

Give TAJ a try and let me know what you think!

SOBATAMAYA - Okonomiyaki

Although I have spent most of my life in Iwakuni, I had never heard of Sobatamaya until earlier this year. Any time I hear about a good okonomiyaki place, my ears perk up. Especially if it is here in Iwakuni. I had to try it out.

They do authentic Hiroshima style okonomiyaki here and it is very good. After trying it a few times now, I have to say it is the best okonomiyaki restaurant in Iwakuni. Apparently a lot of other people agree with me because the place is always packed when I go. Last night was no exception. I went with a couple of friends from high school (GO Samurais!! Yes...the three of us are M.C.Perry graduates) and we got there pretty early (around 6:15). There was only one other customer inside. Once we sat down and ordered, people started coming and they didn't stop. Even after the place was full, people kept coming. They even had some to-go orders so they were very busy. So, I do have to warn you that your food will probably take about 20 minutes to prepare. It's so worth the wait though! And if you sit at the counter, you get to watch them prepare it which is always pretty cool.

They do have English menus. Yay!

I always order the "House Special" which is soba noodles, pork, and egg. You can also add little extras if you want. One of my friends got hers with green onions and my other friend got his with cheese. I have never had it with cheese so I think I will have to try that next time.

We talked and watched as they prepared our okonomiyaki. Before we knew it, they were placing yummy okonimiyaki right in front of us!

I couldn't wait to dig into mine!

It was very yummy!!!! I should have taken a picture of the empty spot in front of me after I finished because I ate the whole thing!

To get to this amazing okonomiyaki restaurant, go out Main Gate. Turn right at the first light. Follow that road and go over the bridge. You'll pass Mike's Tex Mex and at the second light after Mike's, turn left. You'll go over a loopy over pass and there will be a light at the bottom. Go straight and at the first light, turn right. At the second cross street, turn left. There is a pay parking lot on the left corner that you'll see as you turn left. It is the only pay parking I know of that is near the restaurant, but it is 200yen for 30 minutes! Ridiculous. Once you turn left, you should see the restaurant on your left. First, you'll see a Japanese style restaurant and then an Italian restaurant (I heard this place is really good too!!).....and then I think the okonomiyaki place is next. There is a sliding door and a noren hanging outside. *sigh* Yes....I forgot to take a picture of the front. Again. I also forgot to get the hours of operation. I will get it and then I will just update this post. Now you know where it's at though so you can go and have some amazing okonimiyaki!

Editing to add address and telephone number -

Address: 6-8-22 Marifumachi Iwakuni Yamaguchi
Telephone: 0827-24-2080
Hours: 1700-2200
CLOSED on Wednesdays