vegetarian – ono okinawa

Arashi’s Ramen (嵐ラーメン）has vegetarian ramen for a limited time!

Arashis is a well know ramen chain in Japan. While meat easters love their garlic fried rice and porky ramen (both great!) if you want to stick to the vegetarian side you have been limited; however, for a limited time they have vegetarian ramen!

After our trip to the new DMM Kariyushi Aquarium we worked up a hunger; while the mall had lots of options, we had read that Arashis has a limited time vegetarian option and so headed to the one close to the mall. After pulling into the parking lot that was a little too small for easy parking, we went in, ordered from the ticket vending machine (the staff offered us English menu, but we came in knowing what we wanted!) We ordered two vegetable ramens and one vegetable gyoza plate (came with 5 gyozas). Chris ordered a spicy habanero topping (Order the generic topping ticket for ¥120, then tell the staff Habanero when they ask which one, or whichever topping you like!)

After a small wait the food was delivered! The bowls were brimming with veggies and both the noodles and gyoza had a green tint. The green is from spirulina, a type of seaweed that doesn’t have a strong taste.

It’s really good. The noodles are tasty, although they may be a little soft for those that like their noodles al-dente (not sure if this is due to the make up of the noodle, or if ours were a little extra done). The broth was salty and flavorful, just as you’d expect from a ramen broth. The best part: Only 411 calories for the whole bowl! This is about half a regular ramen bowl.

The gyoza were good as well, sadly you can only see the corner of them in the middle picture above, the insides had soy “meat” and veggies. Quite tasty but next time I’d skip them as the ramen was more than enough to fill us up!

We highly recomend it while they have it! If it sells well I’m sure it will return. No doubt this campaign was set up to provide vegetable options to the many expected foreign guests during the Olympics, of course they were postponed due to covid-19 , but we can still enjoy it if you are already in Japan. This is not just in Okinawa, Arashi locations nation wide have these noodles!

Info Box

Place name: Kagetsu Arashi

Location: Nationwide chain, we went to this one in Tomigusuku: https://goo.gl/maps/nMJXg5sxrTeEg8Zk7

Price: Ramen about ¥880, Goyza around ¥350

Japanese foods, Restaurants

Cafe detox felicidad

This small yet popular cafe is located in Itoman, not too far from the Ashibinaa outlets area. They offer raw food, vegan and gluten-free menu choices. They also have a vegan/gluten-free sweets counter for takeout.

There is a parking lot next to the building, park in the spaces labelled for the cafe. The inside of the cafe is not very big, but there are a few tables. They have a variety of fresh lunch choices, as well as some smoothies and desserts. While the bill is not cheap, this detox cafe offers some delicious and unique choices here in Okinawa, so I still recommend it. Today we tried the raw food lunch set with the veggie norimaki rolls and the curry lunch plate. I also decided to add on a raw food “rainbow cake” for dessert.

Overall, everything was really good, so if you are looking for a healthy option in the southern part of the island, this place will not disappoint.

address: https://goo.gl/maps/Q9SY6T58kYJ2

Local Foods

Citta: Vegan & Gluten-free snack

A new shop in Okinawa has opened up, conveniently right next to my university gate. It is called “Citta” and they specialize in vegan and gluten-free snacks, like crackers, cookies, and cakes.

I went to visit this clean, bright shop the other day. The price tag is not particularly cheap, but not unreasonable considered it is handmade specialty goods. While I was there I also ordered a soy latte, which was really tasty. I took home some shikwasa cookies, tomato and basil crackers, and asa (seaweed crackers). Everything was really good, and went well with tea that afternoon. Not all their products are gluten-free, but many area. Everything was made from all-natural ingredients and vegan. I definitely recommend checking it out if you have these type of special dietary needs, as it is uncommon to find this type of shop normally in Okinawa.

address: https://goo.gl/maps/Y5ANPC83EN72

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

Restaurants

LaLa Zorba ララゾルバ

LaLa Zorba is another vegan restaurant in Naha, not too far off from Kokusai-dori. It recently started opening for lunch! It is billed as “ethnic vegan” food.

Since it is in the downtown Naha area, parking is pay parking lots. The restaurant is located on the second floor of a small building.. look for the Tibetan prayer flags at the stairway. The restaurant decor is definitely hippie-ethnic style.

I entered about noon on a Sunday, and it was pretty quiet. I chose the “plate of the day” with Indo-style curry. I also could not help but add on a side order of momo (dumplings). The service was actually pretty quick and it didn’t take too long until my food arrived. The plate was beautiful, and tempted you to eat it; very tasty. But the momo dumplings… SO delicious. If you come here, the dumplings are a must. They also had gyoza but I did not try these (yet… I will definitely be returning to try more food from this place). Overall, it was a bit spendy (plate was 1300yen, dumplings 300yen) but I think it was worth the cost, especially those dumplings.

Again, another vegan place in Okinawa that proves you don’t need to be vegan to appreciate vegan food!

address: https://goo.gl/maps/6DqkDwoBvam

Restaurants

Bali Noon Bali Moon

I finally went to Bali Noon Bali Moon in the Plaza House shopping center near Aeon Rycom Mall; they were on my list of places to try for awhile. The biggest reason I wanted to go: tempeh (テンペ ten-peh in Japanese).

This place makes their own tempeh… and it is sooooo much tastier AND cheaper than the packaged stuff you can only find at some of the hippie organic stores here in Okinawa! The tempeh taste was really amazing; they sell a 500g block for 500yen. Compare this with the 100g packaged stuff sold elsewhere for ~350yen, this is a steal. So for anyone looking for tasty and reasonably priced tempeh, Bali Noon Bali Moon is absolutely the place to go.

As for the restaurant itself, it was decent. I ordered the tempeh curry and my husband got the mixed lunch set. Both tasted pretty good, but it was a bit expensive for lunch overall in our opinion. That being said, Indonesian food is pretty exotic for Okinawa, so I can understand the price being a little higher than some other more typical restaurants. It is worth a go, overall, plus there are vegan and vegetarian options.

address: https://goo.gl/maps/7fBKCQMpSjA2

Japanese foods, Restaurants

Vegan Ramen in Okinawa

UPDATE March 2020: Only a few short years ago Vegan ramen was rare, now there are several! : Sora No Ira & A Hokkaido ramen, both in the Noren Plaza Ramen street! Also Orange Shokodu in Kin town.

There is a place called Stripe Noodles in Chatan, Okinawa (outside of the American Village area) that serves a type of vegan ramen (in addition to several meaty ramen types, predominantly know for their “steak ramen”).

This place is very Americanized and a significant majority of the customers are foreigners, especially American. It becomes obvious when you are eating your noodles and NO ONE is slurping, not even a tiny bit! I found it eerie to be honest, and made me wonder if I was even in a ramen shop… Later it occurred to me that the other Americans may have been horrified at my slurping manners, just the same as I was horrified at their complete lack of slurping manners.

Anyway, during the month of October, they serve pumpkin (kabocha かぼちゃ) “ramen” and year-round they serve a tomato-based ramen (also vegan). Since vegan/vegetarian ramen is extremely rare in Okinawa and Japan, it is good for people with dietary restrictions.

I have only tried the pumpkin “ramen.” I put it in quotes because… well, it wasn’t really like ramen. It tastes pretty decent, but I feel it is a stretch to really consider it ramen. The “broth” was really thick and sweet like a typical kabocha soup; I thought maybe it would be better if it was a little thinner it would feel more like a ramen. It was also lacking something to sort of balance out the sweetness. Though the noodles were surprisingly fairly good– chewy consistence and not overcooked or bloated like I feared they might be going into an Americanized place.

Overall, it was okay. Not amazing, but the taste was okay, and the price not unreasonable (though perhaps a bit high for typical ramen). Mostly, I would say it was the atmosphere that was lacking. But maybe that makes me like a crotchety old man, who just prefers the darker interior noodle shops with din of clanking and slurping and ramen chefs continuously calling out.

I haven’t tried the tomato version yet… maybe I will try to go back sometime and try. But first I will need to muster up the courage to return to a noodle shop where there is no slurping.

The ticket machine menu is extremely English-friendly and there is parking in front of the store.

If you are still looking for another vegan ramen, then check out Rakurobi kitchen, macrobiotic cafe:楽ロビkitchen; they have a version of vegan ramen on their menu. They are not ramen specialists, but rather a macrobiotic and healthy food cafe. **New: Check out Orange Shokudo for vegan ramen: Another Vegan Ramen option in Okinawa: Orange Shokudo

address: https://goo.gl/maps/Quj4SzMsRc12

**BONUS: While out shopping I found vegan ramen to make at home at my local SanA grocery store. I was surprised, as occasionally I see instant vegan ramen at HappyMore or Pals farmer market stores, but it is not commonly seen here in Okinawa.

Japanese foods

大豆のお肉: Daizu no Oniku, Soy Meat

In Okinawa, we are fortunate to find lots of great soy meat products. And they aren’t all full of additives or weird stuff like most of the American ones.

On the label, one brand shows 大豆のお肉 daizu-no-oniku (大豆 soybean, お肉 meat). You can find them in filet or minced form, unseasoned or seasoned. Even better for the lazy me, they also can come as easy to put together meal kits! Gapao rice, Taco rice, Sweet and sour stirfy, and more from Marukome are shown below (word of warning: if you are a strict vegetarian, the pre-made packages still often contain fish sauce/dashi of some sort so the pre-made stuff is not 100% vegetarian, however the UNSEASONED mince and filets are 100% vegetarian).

Another brand of the soy meat products you can find is called: まるっきりお肉 marukkiri oniku: “just like meat.”

But it is not! This product from Maisen has just 2 ingredients– soy beans and brown rice. Organic at that (if you care about those things, and obviously gluten-free as well). Nothing else, no weird additives, no fake flavors, etc.

It is not “fake meat” but actually better than meat. It has much less calories and fat compared to meat, but it is actually higher in protein (well, according to the product site).

The texture is great, and it absorbs whatever flavors you add. You can buy it as crumbles or filets. As for what to cook with it, the possibilities are endless. We use it quite a bit, and the price is pretty good too. It is easy to find at local SanA grocery stores here in Okinawa; usually I find it near the dried beans.

I would definitely recommend trying it out; I think it tastes way better than the fake stuff in the U.S. with all the weird added ingredients. Plus my husband will actually eat it and like it, unlike most of the American faux meat products.

Here are 2 of the brands:

Local Foods, Restaurants

Parlor de jujumo

Awhile back, on a nice sunny day, my husband was itching to get out. So, I had heard of this small place with veg offerings and really wanted to check it out; luckily my husband was game. So off we went to the Ashibinaa outlets in Tomigusuku to walk around for some exercise before hitting up Parlor de jujumo nearby.

Really, it is more fair to say it is a shack, albeit a really cool, trendy one. It is located off some really random streets with not much else around, but that just makes it quaint. Anyhow, if the owner is not there, just hit the call button on the walkie-talkie.

The menu is small; veg curry or veg burger for food, sugarcane juice, organic coffees for drinks. You can eat at the counter (outside) or take it to go.

Each plate was only 450yen! They were both good, but my husband preferred the burger; they were both made from the same sort of bean curry and had some nice added spices. It was a small plate, which was okay, because the next stop for the day was to try the chiffon miso cake at Yume Koubou.

The owner is also in a band, so if you visit the shack, check out the fliers for their next event.

address: 490-12 Yone, Tomigusuku-shi, Okinawa-ken 901-0224
https://goo.gl/maps/2tdr4DSzSYU2

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

Local Foods, Restaurants

Bakery Munakatado: 宗像堂

Munakatado is a bakery (or pan-ya パン屋) in Okinawa that makes natural yeast breads. It is in a wooded area in Ginowan. They sell many types of breads and baked goods, but also have a vegetarian-friendly lunch (sandwich, soup, and drink). It is really good and a very relaxing location, but I recommend bringing the bug spray (the only tables are outside). After you finish eating, there are a few parks within a short drive to stroll about.

address: 沖縄県宜野湾市嘉数1-20-2

Restaurants

Vegan & Vegetarian Restaurants in Okinawa: ヴィーガン

So, I am not a vegan (mostly I eat a primarily vegetarian/pescatarian diet), but I really enjoy many of the local vegan (some are only vegan-friendly but not exclusively vegan) spots here in Okinawa. Many other places will serve items on the menu without the meat (fish, eggs, dairy, etc) if you ask, but if you are not very good at Japanese, that may not really be an option. The places listed here are primarily vegetarian/vegan focused, and highlight the vegetarian/vegan options on their menus.

Here is a current list of places where you can find vegan (and vegetarian) friendly food while in Okinawa: *please note some places may be ONLY vegetarian-friendly, not vegan-friendly due to my ignorance, so always check ahead of time.

SOUTH

Ukishima Garden: Pretty good place located in Naha. 2-12-3 Matsuo, Naha

Mana: Nice cozy place where you can get a plate lunch in Naha; they can get busy for dinner so get a reservation in advance. 1-6-9 Tsuboya, Naha

Kintsubo: Taiwanese. So good and cheap, it is vegetarian Chinese food. But not like American Chinese, like real Chinese.. yum! It felt very homey and comforting for me. 1-7-9 Tsuboya, Naha

Rakurobi Kitchen: Macrobiotic (mostly) vegan. Follow the link to the blog post I wrote.

Cafe Grandma: Yonabaru. 1423-1 Itarashiki, Yonabaru

Yama-No-Chaya Rakusui: Definitely vegetarian friendly, but not sure about vegan. Love this location and food. I wrote a previous blog post on this place.

Ie-jima Shimabukuro 伊江島食の家　しまぶくろ: Located in Naha, this place serves Okinawan soul food with vegan and vegetarian options. The chef has challenged himself to make hometown food for everyone to enjoy. 3-10 Makishi, Naha 900-0013

LaLa Zorba: Located in Naha, I went for lunch and it was fabulous. It bills itself as “vegan ethnic” food, read more in the linked post. https://goo.gl/maps/tSiwY8DMaV22

Niffera にふぇ～ら: https://goo.gl/maps/5XkRhAeHX8s

Vegetarian Cafe Brown Sugar ベジランチカフェブラウンシュガー: Located in Itoman area. https://goo.gl/maps/wK858hkpJHP2

Parlor de Jujumo: tiny place down south near the Ashinbinaa outlets. Read the linked post.

Book cafe＆hall ゆかるひ: Stop be here for some vegan oyaki (Nagano-style dumplings). Info in linked post.

Rakurobi kitchen, macrobiotic cafe:楽ロビkitchen: they use fish sauce/dashi, but if you ask they will make it vegan!

Cafe detox felicidad: vegan, raw food, and even gluten-free choices here.

CENTRAL

Tami’s: located in American Village and recently re-opened. It is also vegan and super delicious. I will have to make a new post for this one. https://goo.gl/maps/TFNjrWyqjZ72

Sprout: 28 Samashita, Ginowan

plant-HOLIC: https://goo.gl/maps/1ZNTFXt54ru

L’Orange: Has some vegan muffins, and they are pretty darn good. 1-21-5 Kiyuna, Ginowan

Ploughman’s: Unfortunately, this place has caught on with a lot of people, and reservations are recommended even for lunch. But it is delicious. 927-2 Adaniya, Kitanakagusuku

Parlor Poka Poka パーラーポカポカ: https://goo.gl/maps/JsiK7dwjLVU2

Rockers: Okay food, unfortunately in American Village, so not an area I go to a lot. I got the vegan burger and my husband the curry set, both were okay but not spectacular. 9-39 Mihama, Chatan 2F

Bollywood Dreams: I don’t especially recommend this place; it is a bit overpriced, slooooow service, and the food is not that great. But they do have vegetarian and vegan curries on the menu. Located in American Village: *update: they now have 2 locations in American village.

Bali Noon Bali Moon: Not exclusively vegan, but has vegan options. They also sell their tempeh which is a bargain at 500grams for 500yen!

Esparza’s Tacos & Coffee: According to husband, pretty good. They also sell vegan their cheese. https://goo.gl/maps/epFFj49nwDF2

Guacamole Burrito Truck: Not so much a restaurant, but a cool little trailer that will make a vegetarian/vegan burrito. Get this and take it to the nearby beach to eat. https://goo.gl/maps/LrtWvo4Bxfz

Citta Bakeshop (NEW!): located just outside of the Ryukyu University East Gate. Google Map link, pictures, and review coming soon!

Essence963 Hammock Cafe: vegetarian-friendly, and possibly vegan-friendly.

Kokopelli Pizza: info coming soon.

NORTH

Dechibika: This place is in Yomitan, an area I rarely visit due to the high traffic of Americans. I have not been here, but people rave about their curry, so I will have to bite the bullet sometime soon. 648-1 Furugen, Yomitan

Gubgub’s: Closed as of Feb 2020 🙁 They still sometimes show up at Vegan Foodfairs! Vegan “junk food,” also in Yomitan; it is as awesome as you hear from others and I highly recommend it. 410 Toya, Yomitan

Suien bakery: LOVE. Delicious sandwiches and located in Yomitan. Go early as it gets busy. 367 Zakimi, Yomitan

Shizen Inu: Another vegan restaurant located in Yomitan. 183 Furugen, Yomitan

Bakery and Cafe Coo: LOVE. Delicious sandwiches in Motobu peninsula by Nakijin-jo. 3313 Imadomari, Nakijin

There are a few others that I know of, but have not had a chance to visit yet. And maybe 1 or 2 that were not good and they simply do not go on the list (Example: Jai Thai in American Village… I simply cannot understand why anyone would go there, it is highly NOT recommended unless you like to spend a lot of money on terrible food. Also avoid Pizza Sun (previously known as Pizzakaya), for various reasons I will not get into. These restaurant are a majority veg-friendly; there are even more restaurants with a few veg options, but I cannot possibly list them all…

Several of the Indian restaurants have veg options, as well as a place called Istanbul Kebab House in Sunabe; all of these are also pretty good options for vegetarians and vegans as well. There are obviously many other places that can accommodate vegetarians and even vegans, but these are some of the better known places that understand what vegan/vegetarian diet is.

Japanese foods

Riceballs: おにぎり/おむすび

おにぎり onigiri, also called おむすび omusubi, are rice balls. Onigiri are a common item for Japanese lunch boxes, called bento 弁当. You can find onigiri at every bento stand and conbini; Lawsons and FamilyMart usually have 20 different types lined up in the refrigerated section, with a variety of fillings from plain salt to tuna to spam with egg.

For my lunch, I went to a vegetarian-friendly market and picked up an onigiri-bento. It came with 2 onigiri: one wrapped in shiso leaf with nori (seaweed) sprinkles (also known as furikake ふりかけ), and one with shoyu and ginger (and probably some other things); it also came with something shaped like onigiri but with pickled plum/shiso and purple sweet potato (and maybe okara, aka soy leavings, but I am not a hundred percent sure). There was a delicious side of pickled carrot and daikon, mini tomatoes, and potato salad. I also bought a delicious vegan strawberry and poppyseed muffin for dessert. Everything was really tasty, so if you are in Okinawa, be sure to stop by HappyMore Farmers Market in Nakagusuku.

Japanese foods

Bamboo Shoots: 竹の子

Takenoko, 竹の子 or たけのこ, are bamboo shoots in Japanese. Recently, whenever I look at takenoko, I think about the Ghibli film about Kaguya-hime かぐや姫の物語.

Today, there was fresh takenoko at the farmers market (and it was fairly cheap), so impulsively bought some…! This is a new experience for me, as I have only ever bought them packaged.

I boiled and prepared it, according to some directions online. I think it worked, although I think more experimenting is needed to actually understand the process.

I made takenoko and shiso gyoza with tofu instead of pork. I added in Okinawa garlic, green onions, cabbage, and seasoned. Maybe I will even include a recipe later. Homemade gyoza (mandu, potstickers, dumplings) are the best and so easy to freeze the extra for quick meals or snacks later!