"The Worse the Shop, the Faster the Chili Sauce Goes": Is Okinawan Food Good? Japanese Diners Weigh In

What Japanese people said — picked from the top 100 of 278 comments

• It's the taste of a completely different region. I don't dislike it, but for people who compare it with the mainland Japanese food they grew up on, it probably feels like 'this isn't it'.

  完全に違う地域の味だからなぁ。 俺は嫌いじゃ無いが、慣れ親しんだ日本本土の味と比較する人にはコレじゃ無い感があるでしょうね。

  — @雪だるま三郎-q9v18 likes

• Okinawa soba is lightly seasoned compared with mainland ramen and the like. The broth is strong but the flavor is light, so by mainland standards it feels lacking and I think people end up adding more. Well, I think that's basically true of Okinawan food in general. It's a southern island, but it isn't spicy like China or Southeast Asia, so it's not what people expected. And it isn't strongly seasoned with soy sauce or miso like Japanese food either.

  沖縄そばて本土のラーメンとかと比べて味付けが薄いんですよね。 出汁は強いけど、味が薄いから本土の感覚だと物足りなくなって味を足してしまうんだと思います。 まあこの辺は基本的に沖縄料理全般に言えると思いますが。 南国なんだけど、中国や東南アジアみたいにスパイシーな味付けではないから期待していたものと違うと。日本料理みたいに醬油や味噌等で強めに味付けしてるわけでもないし。

  — @kuroneco34382 likes

• When people from Kanto and Tohoku, who like strong flavors, eat Okinawan food it tastes thin to them. That might be one reason it gets called bad. You get used to it as you keep eating.

  濃い味の関東東北民が沖縄料理食べると味が薄く感じてしまう。これが不味いって言われる原因の１つかもしれない。食べてれば慣れてくる。

  — @seaa7318 likes

• Okinawa soba felt more like udon than ramen... It was surprisingly light and tasty

  沖縄そばはラーメンと言うよりうどんかなと…意外にあっさりしてて美味しかったです

  — @dacy593617 likes

• With Okinawa soba the noodles split people, but the soup is really good

  沖縄そばは麺は好き嫌い分れるが、スープはとても美味しい

  — @ルレックスMost liked31 likes

• Okinawa soba and juushii didn't suit me The thick mozuku and the bakudan onigiri, rice wrapped in fish paste and fried, were delicious.

  私は沖縄そばとかじゅーしとか口に合わなかったです 太もずくとか練り物でご飯包んで揚げた爆弾おにぎり美味しかったです。

  — @桑名美江子8 likes

• I'm from Nagano but I like Okinawan food... And if it 'smells gamey', what about tonkotsu? Koregusu is a really tasty condiment too. The unlucky thing about Okinawan food, though, is that there aren't many honest restaurants. Even people from Okinawa complain that you can't easily find a decent place. If it doesn't suit you or isn't to your taste, fine, but declaring it inedible out of prejudice without thinking, or calling it bad as if your own palate were absolute, is pretty lame as a person.

  長野県出身ですが沖縄料理好きですけどねぇ… てか獣臭いって豚骨とかどうすんのよ。コーレーグースだってめっちゃうまい調味料なのに。 ただ、沖縄料理の不幸なところは良心的なお店が少ないこと。沖縄出身者ですらまともな店が簡単にはみつからないって嘆くくらいだからなあ。 苦手とか口に合わないって言うのはしょうがないんだけど、なんも考えずに先入観で食いものじゃないとか自分の味覚を絶対的なものとしてマズいって言いきるのは人間としてダセェと思いますね。

  — @ハル9000Most liked31 likes

• I think part of why Okinawan food gets called bad is that people aren't used to it, but it's also partly self-inflicted, from tourist spots serving bad food to tourists... It's improved lately, and tourists and locals now eat at more of the same places, so that kind of shady stuff is disappearing Anyway, as an Okinawan I'm glad people have started saying Okinawan food is good lately It's still ranked last, but I can definitely feel it getting better

  沖縄料理がまずいと言われるのは慣れないからって原因はあると思うけどその他にも観光地で観光客向けにまずい料理出してたからって自業自得な部分もあると思う… 最近は改善してきたのと観光客と地元民の食べる場所が重なるようになってきたからそういう悪質なのはなくなってきてるけど なんにせよ沖縄県民としては最近は沖縄料理が美味しいと言われるようになってきて嬉しいです まだまだ最下位ではあるけど最近は確実に改善を感じる

  — @猫犬-b2e0 likes

• It's true Okinawan food wasn't as good in the past as it is now Okinawans had this attitude of not wanting to line up even for a good restaurant So places that were fast and filling were more popular than places that tasted good But now people will wait a bit for good food

  確かに沖縄料理って昔は今程美味しくは無かった 沖縄の県民性に美味しい店でも並んでまで食べたくないという面倒臭さがあり その為美味しい店より早くてボリュームのある店の方が人気があった でも今は美味しい料理を多少待ってでも食べる様になった

  — @user-rd3rx4o9e9 likes

• I'm Okinawan born and bred, but I prefer mainland seasoning. Some Okinawan food is good, but I think the things that taste good in the end are the ones that were improved in the mainland style. Thank you for developing good soy sauce and everything ❤️

  生粋のうちなんちゅですけど、私は内地の味付けの方が好きです。うちなー料理別に美味しいのもあるけど、美味しいと思うのは結局内地風に味が改良されたからだと思う。美味しいお醤油その他開発してくださりありがとうございます❤️

  — @lovetexas24761 likes

• I'm from Okinawa, and it feels off to me to count tofuyo, irabu soup, mimiga and goat soup as Okinawan food. Most families don't eat them, and I think of them as closer to delicacies. And is Okinawa soba not counted as Okinawan food because it's new? It still has nearly 100 years of history, I think? By that logic, okonomiyaki and takoyaki aren't that different in age, are they? If you compare delicacies like mimiga with famous things like takoyaki, of course they'll lose. Well, if people say Okinawa soba, goya and tofu champuru taste bad, I've got nothing to say 😅

  沖縄県民ですが、豆腐よう、いらぶー汁、ミミガー、ヤギ汁といったものを沖縄料理で捉えるのは違和感ですね。 一般的に家庭で食べないし、珍味に近いと思っています。 それと沖縄そばは新しいから、沖縄料理として捉えてないのでしょうか？ それでも100年近くの歴史はあると思うのですが？ そんなこと言ったら、お好み焼きやタコ焼きといったものも歴史の長さはそんなに違わないのでは？ ミミガーといった珍味に近いものを、タコ焼きなどの有名なものと比較されても負けると思います。 まー、沖縄そばやゴーヤー、豆腐チャンプルーが不味いと言われれば、何も言えませんが😅

  — @洋介高橋-r5c7 likes

• I started loving Okinawan food once I grew up and started drinking.

  大人になってお酒を飲み始めてから沖縄料理が大好きになりました。

  — @ヤモリ-k7k15 likes

• Other prefectures get judged on their ingredients, but Okinawa often gets called bad over its local dishes Kokusai-dori has gotten better lately, but it's basically expensive and not very good, so do your research before you choose Even outside Okinawan food there are loads of tasty, stylish places, American steak, Ishigaki beef, Agu pork shabu-shabu, burgers, cafes with a view, Western-style food, so I'd like people to look more widely

  他県は食材で判断されるのに沖縄は郷土料理でまずい扱いされること多いんだよね 国際通りも最近はマシになってきたけど基本的に高くて美味しくないからちゃんと下調べして選んだ方がいい 沖縄料理じゃなくてもアメリカンステーキ　石垣牛　アグーしゃぶしゃぶ　ハンバーガー　景色のいいカフェ　洋食とか美味しくておしゃれなとこいっぱいあるから視野広げて欲しい

  — @ユナイテッドゆうと12 likes

• Places locals go, or places where taxis and trucks stop, are definitely good 👍

  地元民が行く店や、タクシーやトラックが停まる店は確実に美味しい👍

  — @砂川母5 likes

• With Okinawan oden, Okinawan tempura and awamori, I could keep going for hours. The mozuku tempura above all is the best

  沖縄おでんと沖縄天ぷらに泡盛、これらがあれば何時間でもイケます。中でも、もずくの天ぷらは最高です

  — @びえん-b4z29 likes

• I used to go to Okinawa once a year just to eat everything. Shima-dofu topped with sukugarasu is the best.

  料理を食べまくる為に年１で沖縄に行ってた。島豆腐のすくがらす乗せが最高。

  — @喝大佐16 likes

• I'm from Okinawa! Of the local dishes, I love katsuo konbu-jime, squid ink soup, juushii, kunpen (a bit like a sesame bean bun), jimami tofu (a sweet tofu made from peanuts) and chiiricha.

  沖縄県です！ 地元の料理だと、「カツオの昆布締め」「イカスミのスープ」「ジューシー」「クンペン(ごま入りのアンパンみたいなやつ)」「ジーマミー豆腐(ピーナッツで作った豆腐スイーツ)」「チーイリチャー」が大好きです。

  — @アワビさん20 likes

• Gabusoka Shokudo (main shop)我部祖河食堂 本店Nago

  One commenter says its soba suits mainland palates too (3 likes).

  Map↗あShow in JapaneseSave
• Kokusai-dori国際通りNaha

  A commenter (12 likes) says it has improved but is mostly expensive and not very good, so research before you pick a place.

  Map↗あShow in JapaneseSave

Named in the source comments. Where a note gives a price, opening status or rule, we checked it against the linked source on the date shown — everything else is what the comments said. All of it can change; check the map listing before you go.

Why do some Japanese people say Okinawan food is bland?

Because it's seasoned more lightly than mainland food. One commenter explains that Okinawa soba has a strong broth but gentle seasoning, so people used to mainland ramen add more, and that it isn't spicy like Southeast Asian food either. Another (8 likes) says people from the strong-flavored Kanto and Tohoku regions taste it as thin, and that you get used to it.

Is Okinawa soba like ramen?

Not really. Japanese commenters say to think of it as closer to udon: one (17 likes) found it surprisingly light and good, and another (8 likes) warns that if you eat it expecting a kind of ramen, you'll probably end up disliking it. The noodles split opinion, but one diner (31 likes) says the soup is really good.

Do Okinawans really eat sea snake and goat soup?

Not every day. An Okinawan commenter (7 likes) says tofuyo, irabu sea-snake soup, mimiga and goat soup aren't really eaten at home and are closer to delicacies, and another Okinawan says they have never tried goat or sea snake. Judge the cuisine by soba, champuru and the everyday dishes instead.

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