Hiroshima has four free or low-cost places where an individual or a family can see how things are made: a car museum with a working assembly line, a sauce factory, a maple-leaf cake (momiji manju, もみじ饅頭) factory and a sake brewery shop. This guide compares them by booking rules, cost, opening days and parking.
In short
- The Mazda Museum and the Otafuku Sauce factory tour are free, but both need a reservation, which opens three months before your visit date.
- The Yamadaya Oono Factory asks groups to phone at least 3 days ahead. The Kamotsuru Ichigo-gura (一号蔵) shop in Saijo needs no booking.
- Most of these are weekday daytime visits. Kamotsuru is open on weekends, and the Mazda Museum opens on a few special Saturdays.
- All four have parking. The reservation and information pages are in Japanese, and only the Mazda page lists an English tour time.
Checked with official pages on October 6, 2026.
1. The four places at a glance
Depends on the provider
Only the Kamotsuru shop lets you walk in without booking; the Mazda Museum and the Otafuku tour cannot be visited without a reservation. Tap a name to jump to its section.
| Place | Cost | Booking | Parking |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mazda Museum | Free | Online only, required | Free car park at head office |
| Otafuku Sauce | Free | Required; walk-in for up to 10 | Yes (limited spaces) |
| Yamadaya Oono Factory | Free | Phone 3 days ahead | Yes (large buses OK) |
| Kamotsuru Ichigo-gura | Free entry; tasting extra | Not needed (20+ notify) | Yes (up to medium bus) |
When you can go and how long it takes:
| Place | When | Time needed | Who |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mazda Museum | Mon–Fri; a few Saturdays | About 1.5 hours on site | Ages 0 and up |
| Otafuku Sauce | Mon–Fri, 10:00 or 13:15 | 1 h 30 min | Grade 1 and up |
| Yamadaya Oono | 9:30–15:00, any time | About 20–40 min | Not stated |
| Kamotsuru Ichigo-gura | 10:00–18:00 daily | About 15 min for the exhibit | Not stated |
None of the four official pages says whether staff speak English. The one exception is the Mazda Museum, whose reservation page lists an English-language tour (see below).
2. What to know before you choose
Depends on the provider
These places mostly run on weekday daytimes, so a weekend trip means Kamotsuru or one of the Mazda Museum’s special Saturdays. The Mazda Museum is normally closed on Saturdays and Sundays, and the Otafuku tour is closed on weekends and national holidays.
The Mazda Museum and Otafuku both open bookings on the same date three months before your visit, and spaces can fill. The Mazda Museum does not keep a waiting list. For example, to visit on Wednesday, January 13, 2027, bookings open on October 13, 2026 (the Mazda page says 9:00 a.m.).
The four places are far apart. The Mazda Museum is in Fuchu Town, the Yamadaya factory is in Hatsukaichi City, and Kamotsuru is in Saijo, Higashi-Hiroshima City. Otafuku is in Nishi Ward, Hiroshima City. Plan one or two places per day.
3. Mazda Museum (マツダミュージアム), Fuchu Town
Mazda
The Mazda Museum is free, but it is open by reservation only, and Mazda does not take reservations by phone or email. You book on Mazda’s online reservation system. You can change or cancel up to 2 days before the visit (Mazda Museum visitor guide, Japanese).
On weekdays, a party of 10 or fewer joins a guided tour with other visitors. You meet in the lobby of the Mazda head office and a dedicated bus takes you to the museum. The Japanese tour leaves at 9:15 (visit 9:30–11:00) and the English tour leaves at 14:15 (visit 14:30–16:00). Each tour holds 45 people. Parties of 11 or more are treated as groups and visit at 10:00 or 13:15 (reservation page, Japanese).
The museum also opens on some Saturdays: October 10, November 7 and December 5, 2026, and January 9 and March 20, 2027. Hours are 9:00–12:00 and 12:00–16:00 and you can come at any time in that window. Saturday bookings open at 9:00 on the 1st of the month before (for example, October 1 for November 7) and close 2 days before; check the dates on Mazda’s event page.
Children from age 0 can join, and children in elementary school or younger must come with a guardian. Photos are not allowed in the factory area (ZONE9) or of the company grounds, but you can take photos in the exhibition zones. Strollers can be used and left at reception (FAQ, Japanese). The museum is closed from December 26, 2026 until the morning of January 5, 2027, and from February 8 to 26, 2027.
Getting there: JR Mukainada Station (向洋駅) south exit is a 5-minute walk to the Mazda head office. From the south exit of Hiroshima Station, buses from stop 23 or 16 go to “Mukainada-eki-mae (Mazda Honsha-mae)”. A free car park is in front of the head office; spaces cannot be reserved and cones mark spaces you cannot use (access page, Japanese).
Address: 3-1 Shinchi, Fuchu Town, Aki District, Hiroshima 730-8670. Google Maps The official pages list no phone number; booking is online only.
The video above is “Mazda Museum: what kind of place is it?” from Mazda’s official YouTube channel (Japanese).
4. Otafuku Sauce Wood Egg Okonomiyaki Museum and head office factory (オタフクソース Wood Egg お好み焼館), Nishi Ward
Otafuku Sauce
The general tour takes 1 hour 30 minutes, costs nothing and runs Monday to Friday at 10:00 and 13:15 for up to 20 people. It is for children in elementary grade 1 and up; children in grade 2 or younger need one adult for every two children (factory and museum tours, Japanese).
Booking opens three months before your date, on the same day of the month. Cancellation fees apply: 20% from 7 days before, 50% from 3 days before and 100% on the day.
You can also visit the museum alone. A party of 10 or fewer can walk through the okonomiyaki museum on weekdays 9:00–17:00 (last entry 16:30) with no booking. A one-hour museum-only tour with staff runs only on days when the factory is not operating. The second-floor exhibit covers okonomiyaki history and culture (Wood Egg page, Japanese).
The tour does not include a meal. You eat okonomiyaki only if you join a cooking experience or class, where you eat your own. The shop sells items you can only buy here (weekdays 9:15–17:00).
The facility is closed on weekends, national holidays, over the New Year period, during Obon and on October 1. Wood Egg is closed from December 28, 2026 to January 4, 2027. Strollers are not allowed indoors.
Getting there: JR Hiroshima Station to JR Shin-Inokuchi Station takes about 15 minutes, then about 5 minutes by taxi. Or take a Hiroshima Bus bus (about 50 minutes) to the “Shoko Center 7-chome” stop (商工センター7丁目), then walk 2 minutes. By car it is about 5 minutes from the Shoko Center exit of Hiroshima Expressway No. 3. Parking is in front of Wood Egg and the annex, and spaces are limited.
Address: 7-4-5 Shoko Center, Nishi Ward, Hiroshima 733-0833. Phone: 082-277-7116 (weekdays 9:00–17:00). Google Maps
A short video of the factory tour from Otafuku’s official YouTube channel (Japanese).
5. Yamadaya Oono Factory (やまだ屋 おおのファクトリー), Hatsukaichi City
Yamadaya
The Oono Factory tour is free and runs at any time between 9:30 and 15:00, with phone booking asked 3 days ahead. The factory makes all of Yamadaya’s momiji manju, and you watch the work through glass from the shop (factory tour, Japanese).
A post from Yamadaya’s official X account (Japanese, June 13, 2026) showing work inside the factory.
The flow is a video on making the bean paste and dough, baking, wrapping and stamping, then a look at the line. It takes about 40 minutes. People who booked get a momiji manju as a souvenir.
The page says to apply by phone (080-3879-4871) at least 3 days ahead and accepts up to 60 people. Parties of 1 to 9 get a self-guided visit without explanation: the video, then a look through the glass. If you want an explanation, the page asks you to contact the factory in advance.
The factory is closed every Wednesday and Sunday, during Obon, Golden Week and the New Year period. On closed days the page says you can still see the video and look through the glass. Group bookings are paused from December 29 to January 3.
A hand-baking experience is currently open only to groups of 15 or more (up to 20 per session). It costs ¥1,000 per person including tax with a souvenir, children from age 5 can join, and you book 2 weeks ahead (hand-baking experience, Japanese).
Getting there: about 5 minutes on foot from the south exit of JR Oonoura Station (大野浦駅), or about 10 minutes from Oono IC. There is a car park that takes large vehicles and buses.
Address: 2-10-52 Okishioya, Hatsukaichi City, Hiroshima. Phone: 080-3879-4871. Google Maps
6. Kamotsuru Ichigo-gura (賀茂鶴酒造 一号蔵), Saijo, Higashi-Hiroshima City
Kamotsuru Sake Brewing
Entry to the Ichigo-gura shop is free and needs no booking; it is open 10:00–18:00 (last entry 17:45). It is the brewer’s own shop, set in a renovated brewery building, with an exhibit, a paid tasting bar and a shop. Groups of 20 or more should tell the shop their numbers using a form on the website (Ichigo-gura, Japanese; English page).
The exhibit takes about 15 minutes and the tasting bar about 10. The “three-sake set” (三種のみ比べセット, 30 ml x 3 glasses) is ¥500, and the bar takes cash only.
The working brewery is not open to the public on normal days. An irregular brewery tour (醸造蔵見学ツアー) costs ¥2,000, lasts about an hour and needs a reservation; it includes a 180 ml souvenir bottle. The shop is closed during Obon and New Year, and sometimes before the local sake festival.
If you taste sake, plan for someone else to drive. The shop has its own car park for cars up to medium buses (9 m).
Getting there: it is a short walk from JR Saijo Station. The Japanese page says about 3 minutes and the English page says about 5 minutes.
Address: 9-7 Saijo Honmachi, Higashi-Hiroshima City, Hiroshima 739-0011. Phone: 082-422-2122 (Monday–Friday 9:00–17:00). Google Maps
A video from Kamotsuru’s official YouTube channel (Japanese) about the shop.
7. Which one should I choose?
Depends on the provider
- With young children: the Mazda Museum takes children from age 0, and Otafuku takes elementary grade 1 and up. Book both early.
- Short notice or a weekend: Kamotsuru needs no booking, and Yamadaya needs a call 3 days ahead.
- Want to see how momiji manju are made: Yamadaya is the one that shows it.
- Want a sake tasting: Kamotsuru has a paid tasting bar. Choose a day when someone else drives.
Common questions
Which place needs no reservation?
The Kamotsuru Ichigo-gura shop needs none, and Otafuku allows walk-in visits to its okonomiyaki museum for parties of up to 10 on weekdays. The Mazda Museum is open by reservation only.
Can I visit on a weekend?
Kamotsuru is open on weekends except for Obon, New Year and occasional closures. The Mazda Museum opens on a few Saturdays only. Otafuku is closed on weekends and national holidays.
Is it free?
The Mazda Museum, Otafuku and Yamadaya tours are free. Entry to Kamotsuru is free, but the tasting is paid and the brewery tour is ¥2,000.
Next steps
- Book the Mazda Museum or Otafuku first, because they take bookings only from three months before your date.
- Phone Yamadaya at least 3 days ahead if you want the guided tour.
- Check each official page again before you go, because hours and closures can change.
Sources (checked October 2026)
- Mazda Museum: visitor guide, reservations, FAQ, access, Saturday openings, English page
- Otafuku Sauce: factory and museum tours, Wood Egg (Japanese)
- Yamadaya: Oono Factory tour, hand-baking experience (Japanese)
- Kamotsuru Sake Brewing: Ichigo-gura (Japanese), Sake Museum Shop (English)
- Official YouTube videos embedded above (Mazda, Otafuku, Kamotsuru) and Yamadaya’s official X post
