Local Drinks – ono okinawa

Craft Beer Crawl – Bar Hopping in Naha (バー巡り Bar Meguri )

So you may have noticed that we’ve reviewed three bars in a row, did we suddenly turn into alcoholics? No! We were doing “research” for our bar route map! After doing the hard work of testing beers in downtown Naha and Shuri area, we are ready to recommend a Craft Beer Route for Naha! As with any drinking recommendation, know your limits and don’t be bad guest in Okinawa, and feel free to only do a portion of the route! But do enjoy all the delicious beers that are on tap in the city! At the end of the route there are two great food options that we recommend, the newly opened “Ramen Street” in the basement of the old mitsukoshi department store, or the “food stall street” which has outdoor stalls designed to remind you of old timey food stalls!

First Stop – Wolfbrau

Our first stop is a bit outside of town, but a quick 10 minute walk from the Shuri Monorail station. They also open at 2pm, so you can start a little early! It’s the German style brew-pub, Wolfbrau. This brew pub has delicious German beer, in our mind it’s the highest quality beer of the bunch. If you are from Europe, or German style beer doesn’t excite you then maybe skip this one; however, the beer is great and the bar food is tasty. If you look on Google Maps it will show the Gibo station is closer, but it has a steep uphill climb making the Shuri station your easier bet. Once you are done with Wolfbrau you can feel free to head down the hill towards Gibo station and head to the second stop –

Second Stop – Ukishima Brewing

Ukishima brewing is a great brewery with a wide range of beers, you can see our Ukishima Brewing article for photos of the menu at the time we went first. Every time we’ve been they’ve had a wide variety of good beers on tap. They are almost all in the 5% range and middle of the road in terms of flavor, color, and taste. Like many things in Japan, Ukishima brewing has more subtle flavors, I wouldn’t expect anything to smack you in the face, but everything we’ve tried has matched up with their description and been tasty. For food we’ve only had the fried potatoes here as this has been our second or third stop (Taste of Okinawa is like 2 blocks away).

Third Stop – Taste of Okinawa

Taste of Okinawa is a nice place that has done a lot for the back end of the shopping streets in Naha. Five years ago these streets were nearly abandoned. Taste of Okinawa, along with other proprietors , has brought this area up, and made it enjoy a real renaissance! They are a key player in the Sunrise Market, which sees the area full of people and vendors one Sunday a month. They also offer cooking classes in Okinawa Soba. None of that matters to you, our pub crawling friend! They don’t brew their own beer, but they do have many local and Japanese mainland beers on tap.

Forth Stop – Helios Pub

Helios pub is perhaps the oldest pub on Kokasai that serves their own beer. A few years back they moved from the 1st floor to the 3rd floor, but the beer is still good and cold. At this point you are probably ready for some serious snacking, we enjoyed the sausages and 1/4 baguette of garlic bread in addition to some beer. They have about 8 beers on tap; as you can see in our detailed review on Helios , they brew their beer near Nago and are a small regional brewery, a bit bigger than a microbrew. The flavors are good, and they have some Okinawa special taste beers like Goya.

After 3-4 stops of beer you’re probably hungry, so our last stop is food! (and more beer if you’re still inclined!) It’s a choose your own path, as there are two very close and very good options to end your night.

Final stop – Ramen street or Food Stall Street

Ramen street (Well basement)

You’ve had a long evening drinking, it’s time for some salty Ramen to re-hydrate and fill you up. Our number one choice is the Ramen Floor on the basement level of the old Mitsukoshi department store (There are no markings left indicating this is what it was, but locals will know it!) On this floor there are six(!) different ramen shops as of Feb 2020, including two with vegan ramen options. Everyone in your group can try their favorite! Our favorite is the Michelin guide recommended Soranoiro (ソラノイロ). This ramen shop has a famous location in Tokyo Station, but now has opened in Okinawa! They have a great vegan tan-tan men, and Ramen. There is also Hokkaido style ramen, and many others on this floor. You order at the individual restaurants, but they don’t mind if you sit at their tables and bring over ramen from a neighboring shop, it’s sort of a food-court style. If you haven’t had enough to drink there is also a nice bar in the ramen area that serves many local brews, including Wolfbrau and Ukishima (on tap when we visited in Feb 2020), as well as some other Japan microbrews, so if you need a bit more you’re in luck!

Food Stall Street

The food stall street area has a bunch of small stalls serving traditional Japanese street stall food. You can find tempuras, seafood, sushi, and others here. Most of the stalls are open air, although some have covered or indoor areas. Everyone in your group pretty much has to pick one stall, as they aren’t set up for someone to order at one and sit at another. Most of the vendors have drinks, although it’s mostly limited to Orion, Asahi, and highballs.

Maps Links

WolfBrau Google maps link: https://goo.gl/maps/U39s39oXZh2oKSgEA

Ukishima: https://goo.gl/maps/kajsA5EWCwkbEKYN7

Taste of Okinawa: https://g.page/okinawacraftbeer?share

Helios: https://goo.gl/maps/eNwLtGVv3cu6ks2h9

Ramen Street: https://g.page/kokusaidori-norengai?share

Beer, Local Drinks, Restaurants

Helios Pub

Helios brewing is probably one of the first “small” breweries to open up in Okinawa. It’s not a micro-brew that brews in house, but it is a small regional brewery based near Nago. You can take a tour of their brewery there with some samples (map link at the bottom), but their pub is located in the heart of Kokasai street in downtown Naha. It’s a good place to stop for a beer and a snack!

Beer

A cold glass of Helios Ale at their pub in Okinawa

The pub is located on the 3rd floor of the building, there is an elevator or stairs to get up there. It has a modern Ryukyu village decor. In general they have all their beers on tap. I like the stouts and darker beers, while Carolyn likes the ales. They also have some kitschy beers like goya beer, which is actually pretty good, like an ale with a little bitter melon aftertaste.

On the whole nothing here will blow you away, it’s pretty standard beer, but they have a decent variety (8 beers on tap when we went) and none of them are losers. I think it is a good place that everyone can find something they like, so the picky drinker isn’t sitting in the corner pouting!

Food

They have a decent menu, we got the “assorted sausages” and the 45cm long garlic baguette quarter (you order by the quarter). The sausages were all tasty and the baguette was as expected, essentially a long piece of garlic bread. The other folks there with some of the more substantial food looked pleased.

It’s not a real big place, when we went on Friday night there were plenty of seats, although it was the off season and there was a hint of COVID-19 fear starting to hit Okinawa. They have a bar, tables for 2-6 people and a large table for a group of 10-12. It’s super easy to get to in the middle of the Kokasai street tourist area and the service was friendly and fast.

Map Links:

Helios Pub: https://goo.gl/maps/eNwLtGVv3cu6ks2h9

Helios Brewery (Nago Area): https://goo.gl/maps/DGJoPdv3kRQjPUkc6

Local Drinks, Restaurants

Ukishima Brewing

As part of the craft brew craze…, well if not craze at least increased excitement, that has spread around Okinawa and Japan in the past few years; Ukishima brewing has opened up off Kokasai street in Naha. It’s a bit of a strange place, it’s in the back “Sunrise Market” shopping streets, on the third floor. Initially we were a bit worried if we were in the right place, on the second floor looked like a beer garden/izakaya, but it was closed both times we went by (On Friday nights, so I’m guessing permanently closed). When we made it to the third floor we saw the entrance to the taproom and the sweet smell of hops and yeast greeted our noses.

Some bags of German hops on the way up the stairs

They have a large number of beers, we liked a lot of them although my favorite was the Golden 107, it had a dark color and a refreshing taste. A three beer tasting flight was about ¥1300, a little high but the pours are generous. The individual beers were around ¥800 for I’m guessing around 330ml.

The taproom is modern and has long tables that could hold about 20 people per table, plus some seats at the bar. A bright yellow neon sign proclaims “ede, bibe, lude”, which means “eat, drink, play”. There are clean bathrooms and polite service. Both times we have been there have been about eight beers on tap, all of them brewed by Ukishima Brewing, no outside beers are available.

We only tried the fried potatoes as we weren’t yet ready for dinner when we went thru. They were good, house made potatoes. The food we saw other folks getting looked pretty decent, but as with most microbrews the beer is the name of the game and the reason to go!

Location: Back shopping streets of Kokasai. The street level entrance is an open stairway heading up with yellow coloring and proclaiming Ukishima Brewing.

GoogleMaps link: https://goo.gl/maps/kajsA5EWCwkbEKYN7

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ukishimabrewing/

Some other craft brews worth considering:

WolfBrau near Shuri

Helios Brew Pub on Kokasai

Taste Of Okinawa (Not a brewery, but has lots of local/Japanese beers on tap)

Local Drinks, Restaurants

Wolfbrau Brewery – Shuri

Wolfbrau – brewery and coffeehouse

The microbrew scene on Okinawa has expanded drastically in the past 4 years. Ukishima Brewing, Coral, Taste of Okinawa (Not a microbrew itself, but they support lots of local microbreweries) the list goes on. The most recent as of the summer of 2019 is Wolfbrau, as you can probably guess from the name it’s German style beer, run by a German gentleman who retired to Okinawa. Their shop does double duty as a coffee and beer brewery!

The beers are all made in house, and are what you might expect to find in Munich. Schwartz, Dunkle, Alt Ale, Weizen, and more. Everything tastes clean and refreshing. Almost all are reasonable ABVs of around 5%. We’ve tried four of their varieties and yet to get a bad one! The owner is very friendly and if he has time will chat with you about his beer and upcoming creations.

I’ll admit we’ve never actually ordered a coffee, but we have had the Coffee Craft beer which is beer that has been soaking in coffee grounds overnight. It had an amazing coffee flavor which made us want to order a latte! The coffee roaster is in the shop and along with the Coffee Craft beer we have seen other customers order a cup and it smells divine.

For food they have a small menu of German inspired fair. We had the cheese tray and the sausages. Both were delicious. The cheeses are made by Cheese Guy John Davis (a famous Okinawa Cheese maker)

Getting There: The brewery is located in the greater Shuri Castle area, if you take the monorail exit the Shuri station. The Gibo station is slightly closer looking on the map; however, there is a steep climb uphill.

Contact Details:

Wolfbrau Facebook Page

Google Maps link

Cooking, Local Drinks, Local Foods

Bukubuku-cha, at home

ぶくぶく茶 bukubuku-cha: “buku buku” tea, a type of Ryukyuan foamy tea using genmai-cha 玄米茶 (toasted rice tea) and sanpin-cha さんぴん茶 (jasmine tea). I wrote about bukubuku-cha and some of the cafes where you can experience this in Okinawa here.

Today, I decided to try to make it at home, using a little packet I purchased on Kokusai-dori. It actually turned out great! What a nice omiyage (souvenir) this would make for a tea lover.

Well, when I opened it up, there were several individual little packets (green tea, sanpin tea, roasted rice, and crushed peanuts) inside, as well as a list of instructions… so I got together the things I needed: 500 mL hard water (mineral water, purchased at SanA), a whisk (or 3 chopsticks works, too), and some bowls/teacups.

Step 1 & 2: take the 500 mL of hard water and boil, add in the roasted rice, and let simmer (~medium heat) for 10-15 minutes).

Step 3: Steep the sanpin tea and green tea in 500 mL of regular hot water (nearly boiling, we have a Japanese electric water kettle). As far as time, use the strength you prefer (probably ~ 3-5 minutes).

Step 4: In a bowl, add 200 mL of the sanpin tea/green tea mixture and 100 mL of the roasted rice/hard water mixture.

Step 5: Using your bamboo whisk (or chopsticks), whisk to make foamy bubbles. As you make more bubbles, you can scoop them up and set them aside in another bowl if you desire.

Step 6: In a teacup add some of just the sanpin tea/green tea mixture from Step 3. Add just a TINY amount of the roasted rice/hard water mixture.

Step 7: Add your foam on top of the tea in the teacups and top with the crushed peanuts. Now time to enjoy… I served it with the chiirunkou I purchased yesterday. Yum, a regular Ryukyuan tea party. This package is supposedly “individual” serving, but it was just enough for my husband and I to each enjoy a cup.

**The only thing in the packages were 1) green tea (sencha 煎茶), 2) jasmine tea, 3) roasted rice (煎り米 irigome, or sometimes known as genmai 玄米 and though this can also mean brown rice, here the meaning can also be roasted rice), and 4) crushed peanuts, so if you can get these plus mineral water you can make this yourself at home by following the above instructions.

Local Drinks, Shops

35 Coffee: Coffee that supports Coral Conservation

35 can be pronounced “san” (3) + “go” (5). サンゴ sango is also the word for “coral.” So 35 coffee is actually pronounced sango coffee (not thirty-five coffee); it is a brand of coffee in Okinawa that supports coral research and conservation, making it a very eco-friendly coffee! It is a decent brewed cup of coffee, at any rate.

You can get brewed cups from the 35 coffee stands (one is in front of DonQ on Kokusai-dori and some others are located in the monorail stations, and another in the Naha LCC airport terminal, and probably more, these are ones I can remember) or purchase beans from many stores (including DonQ, Aeon, and even the airport souvenir stands).

The coffee itself is made using coral fossils during the roasting. Obviously coffee beans are imported since Okinawa is not a coffee producer.

The roasting method using the coral fossils is similar to a stone roasting method. The green coffee beans are roasted with coral fossils at 200 ℃ or higher for a long time to create a mild coffee.

It is normally banned to harvest corals according to the Okinawa Prefecture Fisheries Regulations, applicable to even the fossils of corals, which means only companies that have permission from the prefecture can collect them. The 35 Coffee company acquired a permit from Okinawa Prefecture to use weathered corals for the roasting process and to purchase them from authorized companies.

A portion of the profits received from the sales of the coffee go to the “Coral Reproduction Project.” So I think it is good to support the corals in the Okinawa ocean and try some 35 (sango) coffee when you get the chance. Corals globally are effected by increasing ocean temperatures and human industrialization, and numbers have been dwindling for several years now. Thriving coral reefs play an important role in the balance of ocean eco-systems, and can even provide some protecting and mitigating effects on storm waves and tsunami to help protect human populations that live along coastlines.

address of Kokusai-dori coffee stand: https://goo.gl/maps/mDUCvT4RK8q

Local Drinks, Shops

Okinawa Sango Beer, Nanto Brewery

At the Okinawa Food and Flower Festival, the newly renewed Nanto Brewery had a booth promoting their Okinawa Sango beers. Their new beers are made with water filtered with Okinawa corals. Previously, their beers (under the brand Nihede) were quite horrible. At first we walked by their tent, unconvinced, but then thought, with this new line… better give them another try, right? Especially since it was on draft.

So, my husband and I decided to go big and pay for the 1000yen, 4 beer sampler set. The set included:

Saison- I liked this one, but my husband does not like saison-style. This is a seasonal beer and not on their usual rotation.

IPA- We both agreed this was probably our favorite. Citrusy and refreshing. My husband does not usually like IPAs but he liked this one… I don’t think it really tasted much like an IPA, but either way, it was good.

ALT- I don’t know what exactly an alto German beer is, but it was a reddish-brown beer. Not bad.

Black Ale- my husband liked this one; I don’t like a lot of black ales, so this one was not really for me.

Overall, these beers were way better than their previous incarnation. That being said, I probably wouldn’t pay 500yen a bottle, but on draft… probably I would, if I was feeling fancy.

The Nanto brewery is located out of Okinawa World in Nanjo, so you can give them a visit.
address: https://goo.gl/maps/4nHJgV2gNgm

Local Drinks, Restaurants

Rakurobi kitchen, macrobiotic cafe:楽ロビkitchen

I have an affinity for wholesome, veggie cafes. I decided to give the macrobiotic food at Rakurobi kitchen (楽ロビkitchen) a try.

First of all, they have a nice large free parking lot (hooray!), which is not always the case in Naha. The next thing is it is located on the second floor of the building. When you enter, there is an area to remove your shoes. The inside has a very clean and cute decor, fairly typical of most of these types of cafes.

For the most part, the menu is very limited, so the best option is the mangetsu 満月 (full moon) plate. I believe the plates are mostly vegan, excepting for maybe the use of dashi or fish sauce (at least that is what their menu board said when I went awhile back). Serious vegetarian/vegans might be critical of this, but for me, it honestly does not matter much. The food was amazingly delicious and healthful, though the price was not too cheap (~1300 yen per person). I love getting all the small dishes that make up a wholesome lunch, although usually I am not too into soup (strange I know), so I ended up letting my husband have most of my soup since he loves it.

I had learned about this nice cafe restaurant awhile back, and then was reminded of it when I was reading the Uchina magazine (which during that month’s issue was focusing on vegetables and healthy living). Luckily my husband is patient with me when I suggest these places to go to, and ends up enjoying them as much as I do.

address: 沖縄県那覇市真嘉比1-29-16 ブランシュール真嘉比 2F

https://goo.gl/maps/oVBFwZhkKhH2

facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rakurobikitchen

Culture, Local Drinks

Non-alcohol Beer in Japan

0.00% alcohol beer is actually more common here than you would imagine. I feel like in the US, this was a bit unheard of. But here in Okinawa, Japan it is rather common.

So what is the point you ask? Well, drinking culture is rather heavily entrenched in the Japanese social environment. Sometimes you need a break in between drinks, or maybe you have to get up early the next day, perhaps you are the DD, or maybe you are just a real lightweight– whatever the case, there is an alternative that allows you to feel included in the party, but not suffer from excess drinking. This alternative is alcohol-free beer. Usually, you hear people just drink soda or juice as the alternative; but that would be no fun, and plus, all your coworkers/boss or social club members would know you are not actually drinking, and this can put a damper on things (remember I mentioned drinking is heavily entrenched in building social connections?).

Anyway, alcohol-free/zero alcohol/non-alcohol beer actually is not so bad; the taste is not quite as refreshing and good as real beer, but it is a decent substitute for when you cannot or should not drink actual alcohol. And the good part is, many are actually calorie-free, so sometimes it is nice just for that. Pretty much every beer label here makes at least one if not multiple alcohol-free beers. Just look for the 酒0.00% which is marked clearly on the label. But be careful– some beers are marked 0/zero or free for things other than alcohol, so make sure to look for some keywords or you will pick up the wrong one:

ノンアルコール: non-alcohol

酒 0%: alcohol 0%

アルコールフリー: alcohol-free

I often go for the Orion Clear-Free with the blue label, although the regular Asahi dry zero is pretty decent, too.

At every social event, BBQ, and bar/izakaya I always see the alcohol-free options. You will see plenty of people picking up a case at the grocery store, too. Recently, I danced in a luau; before the show many of the members of my group were drinking alcohol-free beer, to set the mood but not be affected by alcohol! Non-alcohol beer is not just for prudes, tee-totalers, religious folk, etc; it is really for everybody.

Some other types of non-alcohol beer, all easily found in grocery stores and conbini in Okinawa:

Sapporo+ and Asahi dry zero are good. Healthy style I would not recommend.

Asahi dry zero in the white can was awful. Suntory All-free and Orion Clear Free are good.

Local Drinks

Grand Kirin beer

Grand Kirin is a line of “craft” type beers that are produced by Kirin beer company. They come in glass bottles and the labels look classier than the average Kirin beer. Sort of hipster, really. These beers are a bit pricier than the regular beers, but overall I do like the taste better. Luckily, my local FamilyMart carries them, so they are pretty easy to find. Anyway, they have many limited release beers that I have been tracking through the year; I was especially interested in the moon-watching beer that was available in September. Unfortunately, most are limited release and only available for a few months at most, but the good news is that means they release new ones to try. I have probably tried all of them, but keep forgetting to take pictures… I guess this means I need to go out and grab a few more beers. This is an initial sampling:

The caricature on the back is sort of funny-looking…

Japanese foods, Local Drinks, Local Foods, Restaurants

Izakaya: 居酒屋

Izakaya are Japanese-style bars. But these are really nothing like American-style bars.

Often there will be an all-you-can-eat (食べ放題 tabehoudai) and all-you-can-drink (飲み放題 nomihoudai) option, which has a time interval, 90 minutes, 2 hours, or even up to 3 hours. Sometimes this is a bit risky, and you encounter some cheap, watered down beer… usually it depends on the pricing and the place. Most dishes are meant to be shared and are more appetizer style then full meals.

Izakaya are a great place to hold an informal gathering of coworkers, friends, classmates, etc. I have found Japanese people get much louder and outspoken at these gatherings, it is a good place to learn about people. For instance, I participate in a hula dance class once a week and we held a 忘年会 bonenkai (end of the year party) at a local izakaya to celebrate the success of our Christmas show. After months of nervously struggling to express myself in Japanese, I found out one of the members speaks somewhat decent English and studied at a US university for 3 years. Sigh. So, maybe I will use English when I am stuck on Japanese now.

A word of warning: some places have a “sitting” fee, which basically ensures that you spend some minimum amount. They will bring out a small appetizer dish that is “required” to purchase. Usually it is cheap, ~300円; this is done in lieu of an entrance fee. This is called “otoshi” お通し.

A tip: if you want draft beer, just order “nama” 生 (and how many you want). Draft beer is nama bi-ru 生ビール, and for short, just nama will do.

Another thing to remember: the drinking and driving BAC is very low 0.03, so always take advantage of public transport, taxi, or DAIKO services! DAIKO is a service in Japan, where someone will drive your car home for you (teamed up with a taxi). It is very convenient and fairly cheap, just a little more than a regular taxi one-way. And much cheaper than a DUI.

In Okinawa, one of the izakaya I like is called Paikaji ぱいかじ and it has a location near to the university. It is more local food and has Ryukuan entertainment on weekends. You and your party get a private room (with a bing-bong so you can ring for the staff when you want to order something), unlike in a western bar. It also has cheap beer specials.

Next time you are in Japan or Okinawa, be sure to stop by a local izakaya (the more salary men, the better).

Paikaji address: 〒901-2211 沖縄県宜野湾市宜野湾３丁目１５−１９

Local Drinks, Travel: Japan

Japanese Alcohol: 日本酒

酒 sake is a general term in Japanese for “alcohol.” Unlike in Western usage, it can include beer, wine, whiskey, chuhai, plum wine, shochu, and of course, various types of rice wine or liquor.

日本酒 nihonshu means “Japanese liquor.” This is what foreigners typically call “sake.” Ask a Japanese person for sake, and they would be confused because it is not very specific. They might even just hand you a beer. Here in Okinawa, they may even assume you just mean the local booze awamori 泡盛.

There are many types of nihonshu; I list a few here, but I will have to add more later.

清酒 seishu means “clear liquor.”

にごり酒 nigori is a cloudy liquor.

生酒 nama-zake is unpasteurized, and difficult to find unless you go directly to the brewery. It must be refrigerated and usually consumed within a week or 2.

The following special designations are specified by the Japanese government and will be shown on the label. Basically they vary the ingredients and brewing technique, etc.

ginjo 吟醸

daiginjo 大吟醸

junmai 純米

junmai ginjo 純米吟醸

junmai daiginjo 純米大吟醸: this is considered the highest quality of nihonshu. Below is a picture of a bottle I received as a gift.This brand is Kubota 久保田 from 新潟県 Niigata prefecture. This particular brand gets a very high rating and is considered excellent quality. After trying it, I agree.

It is hard to know how to pick a good tasting sake/nihonshu when shopping about the store, so whenever you are on the mainland of Japan, visit some breweries and do some tastings! There are many out there. I have visited ones in Fukuoka, Kobe, Tsukuba, Ehime, and Nagano.

酒蔵 sakegura: sake cellar

造り酒屋 tsukurizakya: sake brewery

Local Drinks, Local Foods

Island peppers: 島唐辛子

Shima tougarashi 島唐辛子 are island peppers, similar to small thai chilis. These type of small red peppers are also common in Hawai’i.

While Hawaiians make chili water, Okinawans make koregusu コーレーグース (also seen as コーレーグス). The difference is Okinawans put the chilis in Awamori 泡盛. Yup, that’s the recipe, just add some small red chilis to cheap awamori, let it “age” a bit, and you have Okinawa’s equivalent of hot sauce. I read someone use a ratio of 20 peppers to 200mL of awamori, but my husband says that is not really enough and to just add as much as you like. Suffice to say, it is simple to make at home (check out the “recipe” in my recipes section). Sometimes I buy bottles from little obaasans that bottle their own in the farmers markets or alongside the road.

If you like this, you may consider also trying hiruzaki ヒルザキ, made from island garlic and awamori.

Local Drinks

Awamori: 泡盛

Awamori 泡盛 is the local liquor here in the Ryukyu Islands. It is very different than Japanese mainland liquor 日本酒 nihonshu or “sake” as many foreigners refer to it as. Sake 酒 actually means “alcohol” in Japanese and refers to everything from beer and chuhai to seishu and whiskey.

Awamori gets its name from the bubbles (awa 泡) that appear on it surface when it is distilled. Since it is unique to Okinawa, you may also hear it called shima-zake 島酒 (translation: island liquor).

Firstly, awamori is distilled and not brewed, which makes it more similar to shochu 焼酎. It is also made from long-grain Thai rice, not Japanese short-grain rice. Occasionally you will hear it referred to as shima-zake 島酒, “island liquor.” If an awamori has been aged more than 3 years in a clay pot, it is then considered kusu 古酒, “old liquor.” Typically the alcohol content of awamori is 25%-45%… so be careful, it can be quite potent.

Some important to note is aging time: similar to a whiskey, aging changes the flavor a lot. If there is no indication of aging time on the label, it is under 3 years and considered “new” liquor. Otherwise, you will see 3 year, 5 year, 8 year, 10 year… probably not a lot older than this but you might find some. 古酒 “kusu” is the kanji to look for when searching for an aged awamori.

Personally, I mostly only use awamori to make “koregusu” コーレーグス, the local chili water you see on all the tables of shokudo restaurants. In this case, I just buy whatever is cheap or on sale.

There are many distilleries on the islands where you can see how it is made and try some samples. Behind Shuri-jo is the Zuisen distillery 瑞泉 and Chuko distillery 忠孝蔵 in Tomigusuku is a second place. Another recently discovered location is Masahiro in Itoman.

addresses for Awamori distilleries you can visit and sample:

South:

Zuisen 瑞泉酒造: 〒903-0814 沖縄県那覇市首里崎山町1-35 https://goo.gl/maps/xbi3ERYZC2n

Masahiro まさひろ酒造: 〒901-0306 沖縄県糸満市西崎町5-8-7 https://goo.gl/maps/TrEFwEeDUWz

Chuko 忠孝蔵: 豊見城市字伊良波 556-2 https://goo.gl/maps/oAyUbJFut192

North:

Helios ヘリオス酒造: 〒905-0024 沖縄県名護市許田405 https://goo.gl/maps/LbKTCDvjmuy

Local Drinks

Okinawa’s beer of choice: Orion オリオン

Orion is locally brewed in Okinawa, and therefore popular here. It is tolerable, sort of comparable to Budweiser I suppose. Anyway, if you make it to Okinawa, a stop at the Orion Beer factory where you go on a free tour and receive 2 beers afterwards is a must.

Orion actually has many varieties that it sells; some are seasonal or limited edition, and others are old standbys. Here are a few of I have imbibed over the years:

“Splash beat” is new this summer; not too bad. The next one is a Shikwasa beer (shikwasa is sort of an Okinawan lime), and again, not too bad, but a little strange. Third is obviously draft; “nama bi-ru” 生ビール means draft beer in Japanese. Aeon Rycom is regular Orion with a special label to commemorate the opening of a very large shopping mall in Okinawa. Erm, yes… it is a small island sometimes and you celebrate things like this. Next is ちゅらたいむ “chura taimu” which is a mix of Okinawan (chura meaning beautiful) and Japanese-English (taimu which is TIME). This is actually a lovely summer beer that I quite enjoyed.