Okinawa soba
Despite the name, wheat noodles rather than buckwheat, in a pork and bonito broth topped with belly pork or ribs.
Regional food guide
What to eat in Okinawa
Written by hand, not generated. Dishes, markets, timing and prices for Okinawa.
A different climate and a different history from the mainland produced a separate set of ingredients and methods here. Pork used cut by cut, vegetables that stand up to heat, and the postwar American presence combine into pairings you will not find elsewhere in Japan.
What people eat here
Start with the local defaults
Goya champuru
Bitter melon stir-fried with tofu, egg and pork. The bitterness is pronounced and takes getting used to.
Rafute
Pork belly simmered long with brown sugar and awamori until soft and faintly sweet.
Taco rice
Taco fillings served over rice — a dish that started around the American bases.
Sata andagi
Round fried dough balls, sold from markets and street stalls.
Where the food is
Markets, streets and harbours
Makishi Public Market
The Naha market, where fish chosen downstairs is cooked for you upstairs.
Restaurants nearby
Sakaemachi Market
A market beside Asato Station in Naha, built in 1955 on the war-ruined site of a former girls' school. Deli and vegetable stalls by day, tiny bars in the narrow lanes by night, and more locals than tourists come here for an evening drink.
Restaurants nearby
Motobu Soba Kaido
A stretch of prefectural route 84 through Izumi on the Motobu Peninsula, near Churaumi Aquarium, where some twenty Okinawa soba shops cluster, hence the name soba highway. Bonito stock is the local signature, a legacy of the old bonito-flake port; a lunch stop on the way to the aquarium.
Restaurants nearby
Yanbaru (north)
Cafes and soba shops scattered along quiet coastal roads.
Restaurants nearby
Itoman
A southern fishing port dealing in fresh fish.
Restaurants nearbyWhen to go
- In typhoon season, June to October, flights and ferries can be cancelled.
- Rental cars book out early in the summer peak.
- In the north many places close by evening. Check opening hours before you drive out.
Worth knowing
- 1Okinawa soba contains no buckwheat, which makes it the safer choice with a buckwheat allergy.
- 2The upstairs cooking service at the market charges a preparation fee on top of the price of the fish.
- 3Awamori is strong. Ask for water or ice with it.
- 4Public transport is limited; without a car your range shrinks considerably.
What it costs · Per person, roughly
Okinawa soba runs JPY 700-900, a champuru set JPY 900-1,200, and taco rice JPY 800-1,000.
Okinawa
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