GUIDE Okonomiyaki Guide All you need to know about eating Okonomiyaki in Japan

Okonomiyaki may not be the most photogenic of dishes but it will leave you feeling full, warm and content. Okonomiyaki starts as a savory pancake made of thinly chopped cabbage mixed with flour, egg and a bit of dashi broth. You can then top it with meat or seafood and a variety of other toppings to create one of the most comforting foods in all of Japan.

Kansai-style okonomiyaki is the base on which other styles begin. A simple combination of cabbage, flour and egg cooked on an iron griddle and then topped with sliced pork and savory-sweet barbecue sauce, drizzled in Japanese mayonnaise and sprinkled with Aonori—powdered dried seaweed.

Unlike Kansai-style okonomiyaki, Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is not mixed but layered, and also includes noodles. It is made by cooking the flour and egg batter, then piling on cabbage and other toppings. It is then flipped on top of a bed of Chinese style noodles and cooked until crispy. This is guaranteed to fill you up.

Tokyo's flour-based style known as monjayaki, is a bit different from okonomiyaki. The main ingredients are grilled first, made into a circle called “dote”, and the batter is added to the middle. The batter contains a much larger amount of dashi broth, making the Tokyo style much runnier than other styles. It is eaten directly off the grill using a special spatula.

Visitors to Osaka will want to be sure to check out Sakura, located near JR Osaka station. The Okonomimura in Hiroshima offers three floors of different okonomiyaki restaurants to choose from. Visit Monja Street in Tsukishima, an old area of Tokyo, to check out its many monjayaki restaurants.