Okinawan Food to Try: Goya Champuru, Soba, Awamori, and More

Okinawan food is not Japanese food with a tropical backdrop. It is a separate culinary tradition shaped by 450 years as the Ryukyu Kingdom, by trade routes connecting it to China, Korea, and Southeast Asia, and by 27 years of American military occupation that ended in 1972. Pork is the default protein. Bitter melon appears in everything. SPAM is treated as an ingredient, not a curiosity. And awamori — a distilled rice spirit unlike any mainland Japanese drink — is the lubricant for all of it. Here is what to eat and where to find it.

Goya Champuru

Goya champuru is the dish most associated with Okinawa, and it earns that status. Goya is bitter melon — a pale green, deeply ridged vegetable with an aggressive bitterness that most first-time visitors underestimate. Champuru means something close to “something mixed together” in the Okinawan language, and the dish is a stir-fry combining sliced goya, firm tofu, egg, and either SPAM or slices of pork belly. Everything is cooked together in a hot wok until the egg sets and the tofu picks up colour.

The bitterness is real but it softens with cooking, and the combination with salty SPAM and egg creates a balance that is surprisingly satisfying. Experienced drinkers in Okinawa eat goya champuru as a drinking accompaniment, and that is the correct context — the bitterness cuts through awamori and pairs naturally with the richness of pork fat.

Expect to pay approximately ¥700–¥1,200 at most izakaya in Naha. Almost every Okinawan restaurant serves it; it is not a speciality dish you need to hunt down. The quality varies — look for restaurants that cook it to order rather than holding it warm.

Okinawa Soba (Suba)

The name is confusing. Okinawa soba has nothing to do with buckwheat. The noodles are made from wheat flour, and they are thick, round, and slightly wavy — closer in texture to fresh ramen noodles or light udon than to any soba on the mainland. Locals call it suba in the Okinawan dialect.

The broth is built from pork bones and konbu seaweed simmered together, producing a clear, clean soup with more body than it appears. The standard toppings are rafute (slow-braised pork belly, described below), a slice or two of kamaboko (fish cake), and a mound of pickled red ginger (beni shoga) on the side.

A bowl runs approximately ¥800–¥1,200. Naha’s Kokusai-dori shopping street and the streets immediately around Makishi Monorail Station have dozens of soba shops. Look for restaurants with handwritten menus and queues of local workers during lunch hours. Soba Dokoro Ayakajiya in the Makishi area is one frequently cited by locals; the shop near the Tsuboya pottery district (Tsuboya Soba) is also worth the short walk.

Rafute (Braised Pork Belly)

Rafute is the Okinawan equivalent of Chinese dong po rou — pork belly slow-cooked in a braising liquid of awamori, soy sauce, and sugar for three to four hours until the fat layer becomes translucent and the meat pulls apart without resistance. The skin is left on and becomes gelatinous rather than chewy.

The technique came directly from China during the Ryukyu Kingdom period, and the dish still tastes Chinese in character — sweeter and more aromatic than Japanese kakuni pork belly, with the awamori adding a faint earthiness that sake does not provide.

As a standalone dish, rafute costs approximately ¥800–¥1,500. It also appears as a topping in Okinawa soba. If you only try one pork dish in Okinawa, this is the one.

Jimami Tofu (Peanut Tofu)

Jimami tofu is made from ground peanuts rather than soybeans. The name comes from jimami, the Okinawan word for peanuts. The texture sits between silken tofu and panna cotta — firm enough to slice but with a creamy interior that dissolves quickly. The flavour is subtly nutty, quite different from soy tofu, and it carries sweet sauces well.

It is served cold, typically with a sweet soy-based sauce and a small amount of wasabi, as a starter or side dish. Approximately ¥300–¥500. Most traditional Okinawan restaurants include it on the menu; it also appears in Makishi Public Market prepared food stalls.

Taco Rice

Taco rice was invented in 1984 near Camp Hansen, the US Marine base in Kin Town in central Okinawa. The premise is straightforward — the fillings of an American-style taco (seasoned ground beef, shredded cheese, shredded iceberg lettuce, diced tomato) placed on top of a bowl of steamed Japanese rice. A spoonful of salsa goes on top.

It sounds like a joke. It is actually good, in the way that all practical fusion food born from necessity is good. It is filling, fast, and cheap — approximately ¥600–¥900. The original restaurant, Parlor Senri, still operates near Camp Hansen. In Naha and Chatan (the American Village area), dedicated taco rice shops and diners serve their own versions. The American Village in Chatan is the most concentrated area for it, with several competing shops on the main street.

Sea Snake (Irabu) Soup

Irabu soup is not for every visitor, but it is worth knowing about. Irabu is the banded sea snake (Laticauda semifasciata), dried, and used as the primary flavouring for a long-simmered soup. The broth is dark, earthy, and intensely savoury in a way that is distinct from any fish or pork broth. The snake meat itself is served in the soup, though most people focus on the broth.

It is a traditional Ryukyuan dish, historically considered restorative. Specialist restaurants in Naha’s older districts serve it, primarily for local customers rather than tourists. Expect to pay approximately ¥1,500–¥2,500 at these establishments. It requires going slightly off the tourist track — Tsuji in Naha, the old entertainment district, has several restaurants that still offer it.

Shikuwasa

Shikuwasa is a small, flat citrus fruit native to Okinawa and the surrounding islands. It is more acidic and more aromatic than yuzu, with a flavour somewhere between lime and mandarin orange. The main production area is the Yanbaru region in northern Okinawa.

Shikuwasa appears in multiple forms: freshly squeezed juice (approximately ¥400–¥600 at roadside stands in northern Okinawa), as a table condiment squeezed over sashimi or grilled fish, in cocktails and sours mixed with awamori, and in sweets including sherbets, tarts, and soft-serve ice cream. The juice is tart enough to use in place of vinegar.

At Makishi Public Market and along Kokusai-dori, you will find shikuwasa products in abundance — juice bottles, dried fruit, sweets, and liqueurs. If you are travelling north toward Churaumi Aquarium, roadside farm stands sell fresh shikuwasa in season (September–December for the green, unripe fruit; later for the ripe orange version).

Awamori

Awamori is distilled from Thai indica rice using black koji mould (Aspergillus awamori), then typically aged — sometimes for years or decades. The ABV ranges from 25% for commercial expressions to 43% or higher for aged kuusu (literally “old liquor”). The taste is drier and earthier than shochu, with aged versions developing vanilla, oak, and dried fruit notes not unlike a light whisky.

The Ryukyu Kingdom used awamori as a trade currency with China, and the tradition of ageing it in clay pots (a method closer to Chinese baijiu than to Japanese distilling practice) has continued for centuries. Distilleries around Naha welcome visitors.

Zuisen Shuzo, established in Naha in 1949, is the most accessible — it is within the city, offers tastings, and sells direct. Harusame Shuzo in Okinawa City is another respected producer with English-language information available. A glass in an izakaya runs approximately ¥600–¥1,200 depending on the age and grade; a bottle to take home starts from approximately ¥1,500.

Black Sugar (Kokuto) Sweets

Okinawan black sugar (kokuto) is pressed from locally grown sugarcane and is darker, more mineral, and more complex than the brown sugar sold on the mainland. The flavour has a slight molasses bitterness alongside sweetness, and it melts differently — it is a recognisable ingredient rather than a background sweetener.

It appears in kakigori shaved ice (approximately ¥500–¥800), in traditional Okinawan sweets called chinsuko (a crumbly shortbread cookie sold everywhere as a souvenir, from approximately ¥500 for a box), in soft-serve ice cream, and as a stand-alone candy. Makishi Public Market and the covered arcades around Kokusai-dori have the widest selection. The best chinsuko is widely considered to come from Nankoku Seika, available throughout Naha.

Mimiga (Pig Ears)

Mimiga is served cold as an appetizer in most Okinawan izakaya. Pig ears are boiled, thinly sliced, and dressed in a vinegar-miso sauce. The texture is the point — the cartilage gives it a firm, almost crunchy bite alongside tender pork fat and skin. It is a deliberate drinking snack, designed to be nibbled slowly with awamori or Orion beer (Okinawa’s local lager, brewed in Naha since 1957).

Approximately ¥500–¥800 as an appetizer. The flavour is mild and slightly tangy from the vinegar — less confronting than it sounds for unfamiliar eaters.

See Okinawa through its food: Food and cultural tours in Okinawa often include market visits, tastings, and dishes you’d never find independently.

Practical Notes for Eating in Okinawa

Vegetarians face real challenges. Pork and lard are embedded in Okinawan cooking in ways that are not obvious — many broths, including Okinawa soba broth, are built on pork bones, and some dishes use lard for frying. Asking staff directly and clearly is the only reliable method. Tofu-centred dishes (jimami tofu, tofu champuru) are genuinely meat-free, but cross-contamination is common in small kitchens.

Makishi Public Market (Naha, near Makishi Monorail Station) is the best place to see Okinawan produce in its raw form — pig heads, sea snakes, unfamiliar tropical fish, fresh shikuwasa, and local vegetables including purple Okinawan sweet potato (beni imo), which also appears in tarts and ice cream throughout the island.

Convenience stores in Okinawa stock several items not found on the mainland. FamilyMart branches carry Okinawa soba cups, SPAM onigiri, taco rice onigiri, and beni imo tarts as standard items — useful for early mornings or late nights.

Seasonal produce: Shikuwasa peaks September–December. Goya is best in summer (June–August) when the plants fruit heavily. Irabu soup is available year-round at specialist restaurants but may require advance notice.

For more on what to do around Naha and the main island, see our Okinawa guide and things to do in Okinawa.

See also: Okinawa travel guide · Best restaurants in Okinawa · Things to do in Okinawa · Okinawa region guide · Japanese food guide · Hokkaido vs Okinawa