10 Places Where Locals Love to Eat in Okinawa
Where to Find Okinawa’s Best Local Food?
Okinawa Island is a foodie paradise and visiting places where locals love to eat in Okinawa is a great way to dive into the local way of life. Whether you love to sample authentic Okinawan dishes or chase home sickness away with Western comfort food, you’re in for a treat. You can sample new flavours at quaint market stalls, dine at high-end restaurants or indulge in heavenly ice cream to beat the heat of the day.
If you want to enjoy tasty foods while taking a leisurely stroll, Tsuboya Yamuchin Street and Minatogawa StateSide Town should be at the top of your list. Before heading to the airport, stop at Senagajima Umikaji Terrace for a quick meal.
1. Naha City Makishi Public Market
Where to learn about everyday life in Okinawa
Ideal para: Alimentação, Vida noturna, Compras
Located a 10-minute walk from Makishi Station, accessible via the Yui Rail line, Makishi Public Market is the pantry of Okinawans. You’ll see fruit stalls selling tropical fruits, meat shops selling local pork or the fresh fish stalls where local, colourful fish dazzle on display. If you buy a fish on the ground floor, you can then take it upstairs to be cooked. Keep an eye out for Akamachi, Akazin Mibai and Makubu, 3 of the most sought-after fish in Okinawa.
At night, the area is transformed into a popular bar district. Head to the alley lined with red lanterns where you’ll find izakayas (informal Japanese bars) and small restaurants serving food and drink at reasonable prices.
Localização: 2 Chome-7-10 Matsuo, Naha, Okinawa 900-0014, Japan
Naha City Makishi Public Market
2. Kokusai Street
A popular foodie street
Ideal para: Econômico, Alimentação
Kokusai Street is one of the most significant foodie spots in Okinawa, and it’s pretty much unmissable if you come to the main island of Okinawa. On a hot day, make sure you sample the island’s famous “Blue Seal” ice cream, including red sweet potato (beni-imo), Okinawan salt shortbread (shio-chinsuko) and Taiwanese tangerine sherbet (shekwasha sherbet).
The bite-sized rice balls with pork and egg (tamago onigiri) are a perfect snack to fuel your stroll. At night, head to the food stall village (Kokusai Street Yatai Mura) where you can enjoy great Okinawan food while you watch performers dancing and singing Okinawan island songs (Shimauta). Get ready to experience Okinawa with all of your senses.
Localização: 3 Chome-2-10 Makishi, Naha, Okinawa 900-0013, Japan
Kokusai Street
3. Futenma
A neighbourhood offering Western and local treats
Ideal para: Econômico, Alimentação, Compras
Futenma in Ginowan City is where the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma is located and where you’ll find juicy burgers and tasty tacos. There are small shops, restaurants and diners serving both western and Okinawan cuisine, so you’ll definitely be able to find something that is to your taste.
Futenma supermarkets are treasure troves of local food, and they are open late at night, so you can drop by even after a busy day of sightseeing. If you’re looking for unique souvenirs, pick up a boil-in-the-bag dish of pig’s feet (tebichi) or Okinawa-style mixed rice to recreate the taste of Okinawa at home.
Localização: Ginowan, Okinawa 901-2202, Japan
Futenma
4. Onna Village
A resort town with versatile dining options
Ideal para: Casais, Alimentação, Luxo
Onna Village is one of Okinawa’s most famous resort towns whose shores are dotted with upscale hotels, elegant restaurants and chic terraces for dining with a view. Onna is located on the western coast of the main island of Okinawa, so it’s perfect for sunset dinners and romantic walks on the beach.
Sample the Okinawan Agu breed of pork in shabu-shabu or charcoal-grilled, creative dishes based on Okinawan cuisine, broiled sushi and steak made with high-quality Japanese beef from Okinawa. If you prefer more casual meals, swing by one of the drive-in restaurants and savour reasonable priced soups and sandwiches for breakfast, hamburgers for lunch and steaks for dinner.
Onna Village
5. Minatogawa Foreigner Residential Area
Stylish buildings housing a variety cafes and restaurants
Ideal para: Casais, Alimentação, Foto
The Minatogawa foreigner residential area is lined with foodie speciality shops, popular bakeries and cafes and cosy restaurants. They have found homes in historic houses boasting colourful doors and window frames in blue, green and red.
Swing by the quaint coffee shops where you’ll get advice on which beans you should select and how to brew them for the perfect cup. Or stop at restaurants where you can eat lunch made with carefully selected Okinawan ingredients, Italian cafes famous for their stone oven pizzas or celebrated Okinawan soba noodle restaurants.
Localização: Minatogawa, Urasoe, Okinawa 901-2134, Japan
Minatogawa Foreigner Residential Area
6. Tsuboya Yachimun Street
From tea houses to upscale cafes
Ideal para: Alimentação, Compras
From the bustling Kokusai Street, take a 5-minute walk down a side road until you reach Tsuboya Yachimun Street, which is full of pottery workshops. In the Okinawan dialect, the term “yachimun” means pottery. Tsuboya is a kiln that has been open since the Ryukyu Kingdom era, and there are currently about 20 workshops producing Tsuboya ware.
On the stone-paved streets, there are teahouses (chaya) with galleries, and fancy cafes, making this a great spot to check out the excellent pottery and take a break whenever you like. Here you can enjoy gastronomic delights such as Okinawa’s famously foamy “bukubukucha” tea, Okinawan shortbread (chinsuko), freshly ground coffee and handmade sweets.
Localização: 1 Chome-16 Tsuboya, Naha, Okinawa 902-0065, Japan
Tsuboya Yachimun Street
7. Mihama American Village
Burgers, steaks and taco rice
Ideal para: Econômico, Famílias, Alimentação
Mihama American Village, located in Mihama, Chatan-cho, is an entertainment complex consisting of hotels, shops, amusement facilities and more than 60 restaurants. On their menus, you’ll find juicy, large steaks, hamburgers, tacos and Okinawa’s famous taco rice.
There’s a wide range of restaurants where you can enjoy local Okinawan dishes, including standard meals such as Okinawan soba noodles and stir-fried bitter melon (goya champuru) in a homey atmosphere. There’s even a restaurant that offers a famous buffet for families, so there’s something for every occasion. The adjacent Sunset Beach is perfect for picnics and watching the sun go down. Another good idea is to buy some takeout food and eat it on the beach.
Localização: Mihama, Chatan, Nakagami District, Okinawa 904-0115, Japan
Mihama American Village
8. Kin-Cho Shinkaichi
Authentic Okinawan flavours and stellar nightlife
Ideal para: Econômico, Alimentação, Vida noturna
Located almost in the middle of Okinawa Island, Kin-Cho Shinkaichi boasts colorful concrete buildings remaining and attractive streets like something out of a film set. Kin-cho is famous as the birthplace of taco rice, an Okinawan soul food. Created in 1984, this is a dish of rice topped with octopus, cheese, julienned lettuce, diced tomato and other items.
Kin-cho is also famous for its taro, which is called “taimo” here. You can try it in taimo cheesecake, taimo pie, taimo manju, and other snacks. At night, check out the energetic bar scene and experience a slice of Okinawa’s nightlife.
Localização: Kin, Kunigami District, Okinawa 904-1201, Japan
Kin-Cho Shinkaichi
9. Senagajima Umikaji Terrace
Ocean views and tasty dining near Naha airport
Ideal para: Casais, Famílias, Alimentação
Just 6 km from Naha Airport, Senagashima Umikaji Terrace is the ideal foodie stop-off if you want one last taste of Okinawa right before boarding the plane. On the slopes facing the western coast, there are about 40 shops and restaurants with Mediterranean-style white walls. Try the deep-fried gurukun, Okinawan fish, or stir-fried grated carrots (ninjin shirishiri) at a cafe-style restaurant.
Gazing at the sea, there’s nothing better than eating freshly fried Okinawan donuts (sata andagi) and spending a cool and relaxed cafe moment with some mango juice or sweet azuki bean soup (Okinawa zenzai). Take a fish burger on the terrace and enjoy that unmistakable feeling of being on a tropical island resort.
Localização: 174-6 Senaga, Tomigusuku, Okinawa 901-0233, Japan
Senagajima Umikaji Terrace
10. Sakaemachi Market
Where to find real Okinawa
Ideal para: Econômico, Alimentação, Vida noturna
Sakaemachi Market is a short walk from Asato Station on the Yui-Rail monorail line and has more than a hundred food stalls. If you visit in the daytime, you can find fresh local meat and vegetables as well as handmade side dishes. Okinawa-style tempura, with its thick and fluffy batter coating, is perfect if you want to eat something while walking.
Once night falls, shutters along the narrow alleys open, and the market comes to life again with people arriving for drinks. You’ll find stalls that have been in business for more than 50 years and traditional Japanese-style bars where you can taste Awamori liqueur and Ryukyuan cuisine. Discover this well-kept secret and find the authentic Okinawa at Sakaemachi Market.
Localização: Asato, Naha, Okinawa 902-0067, Japan
Sakaemachi Market
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