okinawa hai!

CONTRIBUTED BY JESSICA RODRIGUEZ Gyu Front On a family outing looking for dinner, we found on OkinawaHai the Jungle Themed Izakaya. We stopped, and went in, and realized that there were people smoking. We had our four month with us and decided against staying because we didn’t want the baby to be exposed to so much [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY ANGI BRZYCKI Ploughmans Food The term “Ploughman’s Lunch” is a British phrase for a plain and simple, cold lunch. It usually includes a piece of meat, salad, cheese, and bread. Ploughman’s Lunch Bakery is true to the name and the general idea remains the same, but the meal is anything but plain and [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY LEAH MAGID English on the awning is our signal that the restaurant we are approaching has an English menu, or at least a picture menu. We rely on the familiar characters not only to let us know that food can be found inside, but that we are encouraged to patronize the particular establishment. [...]

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Oldwest Front Oldwest Burger CONTRIBUTED BY TASHA GUNN Craving a good ‘ole fashioned homemade hamburger? You should venture on out to Oldwest Cafe. The owner of this restaurant, Mr. Hayashi, used to own the 50′s Cafe by Koza Music Town. His new restaurant has a country ambience from the moment you walk in the room [...]

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Dragon Front 1 CONTRIBUTED BY LEAH MAGID “Where do you want to eat?” “I don’t know. Where do you want to eat?” “How about this place?” “No, I’m tired of that place. Plus, there is never parking. What about the other place, the one with the things and the people?” “It’s good and all, but [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY LORALEE ALCANTARA Associa front If you’re looking for a nice, feel-good kind of full, and not a heavy food coma, Café & Bar Associa is a great lunch spot to fill up on some lite, healthy dishes for only ¥980. You’ve probably passed by this little gem many times like we did. Its [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY KATHRYN CALAGUI Tacorice Plate One sunny Sunday, a friend (Hi Rebekah!) and I had decided to have a Girls Day Out at Depot Island. We’ve already tried a few restaurants in the area and decided that we should try something new. We glanced over the Depot Island map and saw “Tacorice Cafe.” Sounds [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY KATIE CLARY Rose Tea Garden Today, my friends and I went to check the mail right around lunch time, and they mentioned that they were both hungry. On a whim, I suggested we try the cute little garden cafe just outside of Courtney’s commissary side, which we learned later is called the Rose [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY CALYN PAQUIN When living in Okinawa, you are bound to drive on a few highways more often than others like 58, 330, 329 — just to name a few. While Highway Route 66 is not one of them, there is a restaurant located in the Rocker NCO Club on Kadena Air Base named [...]

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CONTRIBUTED BY KATIE CLARY Obbligatos Front I remembered from my first stay on Okinawa that Mexican food is few and far between in Japan. Other than the numerous taco joints scattered around, the only authentic Mexican restaurant chain is Obbligato. They have several branches: one in Uruma, one on 58 between Kadena and Lester, an [...]

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