Roan Buffet Dining, Hiroshima

Located in Hiroshima's shopping district near the A-bomb Dome and Peace Memorial Park, Roan is a cut above the average all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant with a focus on farm-fresh, seasonal produce.

Roan's buffet offers mostly Japanese dishes as well as some western ones with Japanese accents like pizza with shrimp and dried seaweed, karaage Japanese style boneless fried chicken. Also included is all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu, a fun and social meal in which slices of raw meat and vegetables are "swish-swished" in a communal pot of hot broth at your table and then eaten with a dipping sauce.

There are always a few different salads, plates of pickles and seasoned raw vegetables to choose from. I loved the cucumber topped with miso-fermented ​natto soybeans. The chilled hiyayakko tofu is also a summer favorite of mine. There are 3 types of rice, udon noodles and a good selection of savory dishes featuring fish, meat and grilled vegetables.

Roan focuses on the freshness of its vegetables, and you will notice farmers holding up their produce beaming down on customers from posters on display around the restaurant. The taste is also a testament to the fresh quality and the dishes are served with light sauces and in raw form for you to truly enjoy the farm-freshness. If you're not that "into" veggies, don't worry, you can make up for it with fried chicken or pork shabu-shabu.

Aside from the main dishes, there is a cereal and ice-cream bar as many Japanese sundaes include cereal in them. There are small cakes available as well as jellies, puddings and a warm dessert made of sweetened azuki beans and mochi rice cakeballs called zenzai.

The prices are impressive too: 1,580 yen for adults at lunch, 800 yen for elementary aged kids (6-12) and kids aged 3 and younger are 400 yen. Dinner: 2,000 yen for adults, 1,100 yen for elementary aged kids and the same 400 yen for kids 3 and under.

There is ample seating for 138 people and they can accommodate private parties of up to 100 people.

• Major credit cards accepted.
• Roan is relatively smoke-free and family friendly as there is a separate smoking section that is completely closed off from the dining area.
• No English menu or English speaking staff.
• Reservations are recommended for groups of more than 2 people.