March 2018 – ono okinawa

Mokupuni Melon Pan: モクプニ

メロンパン melon pan: “melon” bread.

Today we went up north for a bit, and took a diversion to Sesoko-jima (connected to Motobu by bridge). There we found a little Hawaiian-inspired building called “Mokupuni” モクプニ selling Japanese melon bread (melon pan).

Melon bread is not named for the flavor, but rather the appearance. The outside is crunchy like a cookie crust which is supposed to resemble a melon rind, and the inside is beautifully soft.

At this little shop there were a few options, but I just went with the cream-filled melon pan. It was so good and fresh! Places in Okinawa will sell melon pan, but typically packaged and not usually quite so fresh as this was. Now, the price was 350yen, which is not terribly cheap, but not too bad either since it was stuffed with cream.

address: https://goo.gl/maps/rX4r2LtGFTt

Japanese sweets, Local Foods, Restaurants, Shops

Cokofu: Sweets shop in Okinawa

Cokofu is located in the eclectic Minatogawa Stateside Town in Urasoe. The name stands for: Coconut × Kokuto 黒糖 (brown sugar) × Fu 麩 (wheat gluten).

It is a mix of Okinawan style and some Kyoto style… it is interesting!

The best part? Vegan-friendly! I ate delicious soy milk and Okinawa brown sugar ice cream, drizzled with brown sugar syrup and sweet crispy fu on the side. I also had the fizzy kumquat juice drink (so really more like a soda than a juice). All the sweets and cafe drinks are made with soy milk, no regular milk is even available. There are several types of teas, coffee, and natural juice drinks to choose from. The menu is in Japanese and English, with pictures, so it should be easy to order.

Everything looked so good, and I actually wanted to try some of the Kyoto-style sweets, but it was warm out, I had already ate lunch (and was kinda full), so I opted with something a little smaller. Overall– AMAZING! I will definitely be back here to try everything else.

**There are some parking spots (maybe 2-3) for the store so you do not have to pay for parking!

address: https://goo.gl/maps/UMpyHoHjoNG2

Local Foods, Restaurants

Essence963 Hammock Cafe

Time to share a small gem located in Ginowan. It is on top of a hill up a narrow road off of Pipeline-dori, actually situated in a peaceful neighborhood near a lot of Americans… but somehow this place remains untouched.

There are other hammock cafes in Okinawa that you hear about all the time. But this one is really nice and quiet. It has a beautiful view overlooking Ginowan, plenty of parking, sweet and friendly owners, and the lunch plate is mostly (if not all) vegetarian and vegan. How has this place stayed so hidden?

For 1200yen you get a plate of the day, drink (hot/ice coffee or herbal tea), and dessert. It was all really good. Admittedly service was a bit slow/haphazard, but hey, we are on island time. This is a great place to relax with a slow, healthy, and delicious lunch! There were many colorful hammocks to relax in. It was perfect for a beautiful day. Keep in mind if you go, the menu listing was all Japanese and I had the impression only Japanese was spoken since no one attempted to speak English with me (all our conversation was in Japanese). That being said.. there is no menu to really choose from, just the plate of the day is offered, so why not go for it (oh and remember to remove your shoes at the door)!

address: https://goo.gl/maps/qPWQpJ12d8G2

Culture, Holidays

Uchinaa Days: Celebrating Okinawa Culture

うちなー uchinaa: belonging to Okinawa

Okinawa has created some “special days” in the calendar to celebrate different aspects of Okinawa/Ryukyu culture and industry. Based on the sounds of the words or some other special meaning, they choose a day in the calendar to represent it. Please keep in mind these are not serious holidays, just “fun” holidays.

Here is a list of some of them (they sometimes add new ones and probably I have forgotten a few); I will slowly be adding descriptions for each day:

February 6: taanmu ターンム (田芋), English: taro

February 22: Yaeyama kamaboko 八重山かまぼこ, fishcake from the Yaeyama islands

March 4: sanshin 三線, traditional Okinawa 3-string instrument

March 5: sango サンゴ, English: coral

March 8: sanba 三板, traditional wooden Okinawa percussive instrument

March 14: sata andagi サーターアンダギー, Okinawa donut

*March 2 LUNAR CALENDAR: sannin サンニン (月桃), English: shell ginger

April 3: shisa シーサー, guardian lion-dogs

April 10: shibui シブイ, English: winter melon

April 15: mozuku もずく, a type of seaweed popular in Okinawa

Fourth Sunday in April: satoukibi さとうきび, English: sugarcane

May 4: minsa みんさー, type of Okinawa weaving pattern. A traditional minsa pattern consists of four and five small rectangles. These rectangles represent eternal love.

May 8: goya ゴーヤー, English: bitter melon

May 10: kokutou 黒糖, English: brown sugar

May 12: acerola アセロラ

May 30: Lord Gosamaru 護佐丸, a famous Ryukyu Lord of Nakagusuku

July 8: Naha 那覇, major city of Okinawa main island

July 10: Ultraman ウルトラマン, famous super-fighter character who comes from Okinawa

July 15: mango マンゴー

October 17: soba そば (suba すば)

October 25: karate 空手

November 1: awamori 泡盛, local Okinawa liquor

December 23: umibudou 海ぶどう, sea grapes

*after each word comes の日 (-no-hi), meaning “__ day.”

Example: “goya-no-hi” is “goya day”

Local Foods, Shops

Jimmy’s Bakery Okinawa

How has it been this long and I have never made a post about Jimmy’s? Well, Jimmy’s is a local Okinawan chain: part bakery, part import foods store, and part restaurant. And it is SUPER popular. I always get gifts from Jimmy’s– the cakes, cookies, and such are decent. Not really spectacular, but just fine. I guess they are sort of “American-style,” or at least that’s the idea. I wouldn’t go in expecting American cakes or anything, but it is definitely a little different than a lot of the Japanese-western dessert shops.

I have never eaten at their full restaurant (Jimmy’s Island Grill), but maybe one day I will try them. They also have a few shelves of random import goodies.

There are several of them around island; some are big stand alone stores, and others are smaller size stores in the mall, airport, Makeman メイクマン (DIY/Home store), etc.

People really love Jimmy’s, so I recommend getting gifts or omiyage there. Or if someone special is having a birthday, order a cake and see what you think.

Just put Jimmy’s or ジミー into Google Maps to find locations; or be sure to check out their website for locations: http://jimmys.co.jp/

Restaurants

Three Little Pigs Cafe: 三匹の子豚

三匹の子豚 sanbiki no kobuta: 3 little pigs

I finally stopped for lunch at a cafe I have passed dozens of times, but never really noticed before. The building is aging a bit, and the sign was never very obvious; I vaguely knew there was something there, but never really sure if it was open or not.

The name in English is “The 3 Little Pigs,” like the fairytale. Inside was a little eclectic, with some piggy decor and other random things, but quaint and clean. There are 9 parking spaces outside the cafe, too, so plenty of parking available unlike some other places. After I arrived, several tables starting filling up fast. I was a little surprised, but apparently many local people know about this place!

Anyway, the menu is in Japanese and the staff probably only spoke Japanese, though there was a mix of kana and kanji on the menu, you can probably stumble through with minimal knowledge of Japanese. I ordered the cheese and egg sandwich (which also came with a mini yogurt)), as well as the cake/drink set. You can choose from 5 different cakes and between coffee, tea, or soft drinks. I chose the coffee cheesecake and hot blend coffee.

Service was fairly quick, and the food was really good! Plus it was a good price: 600yen for the sandwich set, and 750yen for the cake/drink set (the drink included 1 free refill). I was impressed overall. This is definitely a nice stop for a decent lunch in Ginowan.

Oh, and the bread made in shop is gluten-free! I don’t know that most menu items were actually gluten-free, but they sold small loaves of their bread at the counter~~ Also the main dishes use genmai 玄米 (brown rice) instead of white rice to be a little healthier!

address: https://goo.gl/maps/qyn9Z8uNmS92

Japanese sweets, Shops

Sunny Side Cakes: サニーサイドケークス

Today I needed a little cheering up, so I decided to check out a place offering sunshine– Sunny Side Cakes, located in the northern part of Ginowan.

Just some quick info: here are a few parking spaces by the shop building, so no need to park on the street. There is an eat-in area of the shop as well, and they offer some drinks and dessert sets, or you can do take-out. They also do custom cakes.

Anyway, I entered the bright and cheery shop. Some info was English but most of the labels were in Japanese, so of course I was asked if I understood. Well, yes, of course, but it may be nice to know for those of you uncomfortable with reading/speaking Japanese that someone who speaks English is available.

There were a fair number of choices, but I had already decided that the shop’s “cookie sandwich” was a must. There were quite a few flavors, but I predictable ended up with “Cafe Nuts” which was a coffee and nuts flavor… delicious!! I also went ahead and got what was labeled as a “German Cake” of some sort (I forget the name now); it tasted similar to a non-chocolate German chocolate cake. Anyhow, I liked both confections quite a bit, and they were reasonably priced. I would definitely recommend checking out the cute shop if you find yourself in the northern part of Ginowan near Rt 330 (not far from the Ginowan town office).

address: https://goo.gl/maps/gT2aKxFuXyj

Restaurants

Tasokare Coffee: たそかれ珈琲

Coffee adventures continue (also see Coffee & Donuts in Okinawa City, Yamada Coffee: 山田珈琲, More Coffee in Okinawa).

This time I was headed to a small shop to pick up some tea ceremony supplies in Naha. Nearby was one of the coffee shops listed, so why not check it out as well.

This area is typical pay parking lots, but there is a few just around the corner from the shop. Tasokare Coffee is subtly located on the bottom floor of a building, and does not stand out much until you are right in front of it. I entered, and was greeted with an interesting site; this place definitely has a low-key hipster city vibe. Anyway, it was lunch time and packed… I got the last table. So I checked out the menu (only in Japanese, but simple Japanese so if you can read hiragana/katakana you will have no problems). I ordered a latte and a bean-paste tomato sandwich. I was eying the cheesecake, too, but decided I wouldn’t be hungry enough for that.

This place was humming with activity despite being rather small. It was sort of nice to be around the chatter and not the dull silence that other places offer. I would definitely recommend this place for a friends outing; your talking will not disturb anyone here.

My food and latte came rather quickly, and it was quite delicious as well as reasonably priced and filling. This was a nice choice for a quick and reasonable lunch.

address: https://goo.gl/maps/UPWra6sZ5oT2