Okonomiyaki — Japan’s savoury pancake whose name means “grilled as you like it” — is one of the country’s most beloved comfort foods and the centre of a friendly regional rivalry between Osaka and Hiroshima that mirrors broader cultural distinctions between the two cities. Both versions are deeply satisfying, entirely different in construction, and each claims passionate local loyalists who insist only their style deserves the name.
Osaka Style: Mixed Pancake
Osaka-style okonomiyaki (Kansai-style) mixes all ingredients together before cooking. A batter of flour, dashi stock, grated nagaimo (mountain yam) and egg forms the base; shredded cabbage, pork belly slices (buta), squid or shrimp, and any preferred additions (mochi, kimchi, cheese) are folded in and poured onto a hot iron griddle (teppan). The pancake is flipped once during cooking to form a thick disc.
The finished pancake is dressed with okonomiyaki sauce (a thick, sweet-savoury Worcestershire-style sauce), Japanese mayonnaise in a lattice pattern, dried bonito flakes (katsuobushi) that wave in the heat, green seaweed powder (aonori) and pickled red ginger. The combination of sweet, salty, fatty and umami elements in a single mouthful — plus the visual drama of the waving bonito flakes — is definitively satisfying.
In many Osaka-style restaurants, the batter is brought to the table raw and customers cook on built-in teppan griddles — part participation, part theatre. The Dotonbori area and Namba’s backstreets have the highest concentration of well-regarded Osaka okonomiyaki specialists.
Hiroshima Style: Layered Pancake
Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki is entirely different in construction: ingredients are not mixed but layered on the griddle in sequence. A thin crepe-like batter layer goes down first; bean sprouts, shredded cabbage and pork belly are piled on top (a substantial mound that compresses during cooking); noodles (yakisoba or udon) are cooked separately and added as the base layer; the assembled stack is flipped as a single unit onto the noodle base, then a fried egg is placed underneath and everything is pressed together into a flat disc.
The result is architecturally distinct — layers are visible when cut — and the noodle content makes it more substantial than the Osaka version. Hiroshima city’s Okonomi-mura (Okonomiyaki Village) — a three-story building housing 24 competing restaurants — is the definitive destination: watching experienced cooks construct and layer in one smooth motion, then pressing with a heavy spatula, is as much performance as cooking.
Monjayaki: Tokyo’s Variant
Tokyo has its own variation: monjayaki, a runnier batter with more liquid that is spread thin on the griddle and scraped up with a small metal spatula as it sets. The result is a loose, somewhat irregular disc with a crispy edge and soft centre — less photogenic than okonomiyaki but equally popular in Tokyo’s Tsukishima district (a few stops from Tsukiji on the Yurakucho Line), which has over 70 monjayaki restaurants in a single neighbourhood.
Cooking at Home and Restaurants
Okonomiyaki is one of Japan’s most accessible home cooking projects: ready-made batter mixes are sold in every supermarket with clear English instructions increasingly available. Department store basement food halls and supermarkets sell pre-cut ingredient kits. For restaurant dining, the teppan-cooking format means timing is flexible — arriving mid-evening and lingering over several rounds of okonomiyaki with beer is the standard approach. Solo dining is entirely normal at counter seating. Vegan and shellfish-free versions are possible at most restaurants with simple requests; the base batter is egg-based so fully vegan preparation requires substitution discussion with staff.