This post was written in 2008. Shop details and prices may have changed since then.
Okinawa soba is probably the most famous thing to eat in Okinawa. It’s cheap and tasty, so I stopped by a few places on this trip.
Miyarabi, a Miyako soba shop we stopped at on the first day.
It’s on the way from the airport to the Ashibinaa Outlet Mall.
Soki soba
Typical Okinawa soba is thick noodles in a salt-based broth made with katsuobushi (bonito), topped with braised pork. “Soki” means meat on the bone: soki soba comes with soki, while plain Okinawa soba comes with rafute, pork belly braised in soy sauce.
Miyako soba
This one is the house special, a soba with extra vegetables. I should have just ordered the soki soba.
Okinawa’s own spicy condiment
It’s koregusu, a condiment made by steeping chili peppers in awamori, a local liquor. It’s really spicy. You add just a little to your Okinawa soba.
Maybe because it’s made with ingredients that are easy to get in Okinawa, both the broth and the noodles were really good. It’s exactly my kind of ramen. What a shame I’d gone all this time without knowing about ramen this good.
Udunyama, an Okinawa soba shop near Shuri Castle.
I went because I’d heard it was famous, but it wasn’t easy to find the way there.
This is what it’s like inside.
It comes out neat and clean.
They say they don’t use MSG, and maybe that’s why it didn’t have much of a kick. To my taste it was just so-so.
Side dishes
Jushi
It’s Okinawan seasoned mixed rice.
For all its fame, the taste was ordinary.
Soki soba I had at the airport
It’s a bit pricey compared with the Okinawa average, but it was decent. The noodles, broth and meat felt like they weren’t quite coming together, but for airport food I should be grateful it’s this good.
It’s great that Okinawa has so many cheap, tasty places. It almost makes me want to live there for a while. It’s not that far away either, so when I have the time and money I should go and play there often.