One day I set out to look for some fancy chocolates for my husband. I saw about this small chocolate shop located in Ginowan, so I set off on the hunt.
It was surprisingly close to the university, just off a back neighborhood. I went up the narrow alley roads, uncertain that this was the right way, when all of a sudden there it was, modest and barely visible in the shadow on the first floor of a building: Jacaranda Blue.
As soon as I stepped inside, it was bright and cheerful with many chocolate displays. The chocolatiers are professional crafters, and the quality was exquisite, like something you would see in a western chocolate shop. They studied abroad and brought their skills back home to this small, quiet neighborhood in Okinawa. The chocolates take 2 or 3 days to make into perfection.
What drew my attention was the fact that they incorporated local ingredients into the chocolates, which they call “uchinaa chocolate.” They have 9 types of bon-bon chocolates: turmeric (ukon in Japanese, ucchin in Okinawan), mugwort (yomogi in Japanese, fuchiba in Okinawan), miso from Miyako, sea salt (shima masu), island chili pepper (shima tougarashi), orange (tankan), peanuts (jimami), brown cane sugar (kokutou), and island peppercorn (pipaachi). Each chocolate is a different scent and taste of Okinawa!
The price was not cheap, but my husband was very delighted when I came home with these! He was very impressed with the shine on it and commented on how professional the tempering was (he knows wayyyy more about chocolate than I do). So for a special occasion, these chocolates are worth it, you will not be disappointed.
address: 沖縄県宜野湾市長田1-8-7
https://goo.gl/maps/Cgfeye362br