Twenty kilometres west of Fukuyama lies the enchanting port of Onomichi (尾道), overlooked by the houses and temples that tumble down the steep face of the wooded hill, Senkōji-san. Many Japanese come here to linger along the town’s vertiginous byways, imagining scenes from their favourite films by local director Ōbayashi Nobuhiko. Onomichi is also a gateway to some of the islands of the Inland Sea, including Ikuchi-jima and Ōmi-shima, and to Shikoku via ferry or by road along the Shimanami Kaidō Expressway.