JETSETTER

Okinawa is more than okay

The sunny Japanese prefecture of Okinawa has so many delicious things to offer

 

Okinawa Tomari Port tuna auction

Tuna auction at Tomari Port in Okinawa

November 2022

Say “Okinawa” to a non-Japanese and chances are, he or she will reply with the word “diet”. After all, isn’t that what Japan’s most southerly prefecture and its centenarians are best known for, the famed Okinawa diet?

But the chain of islands is more than just about low fat and high veg – there is so much delicious food and fruit that you wonder how Okinawans can resist them.

Getting there

The obvious route from Singapore to Naha, the capital city of Okinawa, is via Tokyo, Osaka or Fukuoka. But there is a quicker way and it is through Taipei. And proximity is not the only reason why Taiwanese tourists love Okinawa – the climate, cuisine and relaxed atmosphere are popular too.

From Naha airport, downtown is 10 minutes away by taxi. But before you leave, it might be worth your while to queue up for a spam and egg onigiri at the super popular Pork Tamago Onigiri Honten in the arrival hall.

Kokusai-dori street

Kokusai-dori is the centre of downtown Naha. Check in at one of the many hotels there, then check out the many souvenir and clothing shops, cafes and restaurants that line the 2 km long street. There is even a giant MaxValu supermarket right at the end to satisfy your CPG cravings.

Or you can peel off from the main stretch into the covered shopping arcades. Or down a steep slope to the Daiichi Makishi Public Market, an airconditioned two-storey building with seafood, meat and fruit vendors on the ground floor, and eateries on the upper level. You can also buy the live seafood or fresh beef and pork for the stallholders upstairs to cook for you.

Itoman Fishing Coop

When you’re surrounded by water, of course you can expect fantastic seafood. One touristy but must-visit attraction is the local fish market south of Naha called the Itoman Fishing Cooperative Fish Centre. Like Tokyo’s Tsukiji Outer Market but conveniently located in a single building, it sells all manner and colour of fishy denizens, and visitors can also buy sashimi, oysters, clams, prawns and lobsters etc to eat at the tables outside.

 

One standout local fish is the budai sashimi. Sapphire in colour, its white flesh is pristine fresh and extremely tasty.

Also try the giant squid sodeika, with its resilient bite.

One point to consider though: online reviews of high prices are not wrong.

The Umanchu Farmers’ Market next door is a huge building full of unusual vegetables, fruits and condiments – even exotic flowers like giant phalaenopsis orchids.

But the sponge gourds, bananas, pineapples and mangoes (if they are in season) are more expensive than those in town. Maybe they’re fresher but even the renowned Okinawan salt costs more there.

Tarajisabira izakaya in Itoman Okinawa

Sushi at Tarajisabira izakaya in Itoman

Tarajisabira izakaya

For delicious seafood at great prices, head to the nearby Tarajisabira izakaya. Also in Itoman, the restaurant is run by the fish shop downstairs, so the sashimi and other oceanic delicacies are fresh and extremely good value for money.

The predominant tuna in Okinawa is the bigeye and at Tarajisabira, tuna portions are priced at 500 yen, sashimi platters start from just 2,500 yen for nine varieties, and 15 pieces of sushi are 2,300 yen. Also special is the raw tiger shrimp that is so sweet and succulent you won’t believe it’s actually farmed.

Tomari Fishing Port

If you’ve never been to a tuna auction, you have to go to the one at Tomari Fishing Port, said to be the second biggest in Japan for fresh tuna after Toyosu market in Tokyo.

What is good about Tomari is that while tourists cannot enter the actual site with its fish on the floor and bidders milling around, it is possible to stand by the pier to easily observe everything that’s going on.

The only downside is you have to be there by 4.30am.

At Tomari, the bigeye tuna is the specialty and unlike the bluefin tuna which is beloved for its fatty otoro, the mebachi maguro is prized by Okinawans for lean akami flesh that is high in protein and low in fat.

Tarajisabira izakaya’s owner, Kaoru Takaesu, specialises in mebachi at his eponymous fish shop below the restaurant. Enjoy the supple taste of the flesh with its sticky texture and smooth, clean taste. This is tuna in all its purity without any oily distraction.

okinawa acerola cherry

Okinawa acerola cherry

Unusual fruit and veg

Okinawa’s subtropical climate means it is blessed with abundant sunshine, and with its mineral-rich soil, they produce nutritious fruits and vegetables like the acerola cherry, shikwasa citrus, smooth okra and umibodo sea grape.

The bright red acerola hails from Hawaii and was introduced to Okinawa by the Americans after the war. It has 30 times more vitamin C than a lemon. But it is fragile and cannot travel as fresh fruit, so one way is to consume it in Okinawa in a slushie.

okinawa shikwasa citrus

Okinawa shikwasa citrus

The shikwasa is often mistaken for calamansi but it is really a hybrid of mandarin orange and kumquat. Indigenous to Okinawa, it is sour when just ripe. But keep it longer and it turns sweeter. Use it in a lemon sour drink to enjoy its deep and complex flavour. Just note that it can be terribly addictive.

Some people are put off by slimy okra or ladies’ fingers but the Okinawan variety is smooth and ridgeless, with none of the usual sappiness. And it is crisp and mild when eaten raw.

Also perfect in a salad is umibudo or sea grapes (or if you’re in sales and marketing, sea caviar). These tiny green pearls that pop in your mouth with the taste of the ocean are filled with vitamins and minerals. In Okinawa, they are particularly plump.

yakiniku in Naha Okinawa

Yakiniku in Naha, Okinawa

Sweet meat

With layered fat and a natural sweetness, Okinawan pork and beef are in a class of their own. Among pigs, the beni buta is the common porker raised on sweet potatoes, while the umami-rich Agu pork is superior with fat that is lower in cholesterol.

As for beef, Motobu gyu is cattle that enjoys happy hour – sort of because the cows snack on fermented feed from beer grains and molasses.

So even if the fruits and vegetables in Okinawa are stuffed with vitamins and minerals, before you leave Naha, try to make time for some relatively unhealthy alternatives and have a big yakiniku dinner with lots of shikwasa in your shochu.

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