About 1 hour and 37 minutes by car from Naha Airport. Located in Ogimi Village in the northern part of Okinawa’s main island, this Okinawan restaurant is the model for the ultimate in local production for local consumption, “Chimu Dodon”. A certified nutritionist participates in the cooking, and the ingredients are picked from the field in front of the restaurant. The restaurant has a very good reputation, but please note that it is open only four days a week.
Point 1: What is the location of the “Emi no mise”?
It takes about 1 hour and 37 minutes by car from Naha Airport. It is an Okinawan restaurant located in Yanbaru, northern Okinawa Island, about 1 hour and 37 minutes by car from Naha Airport, just north of Okinawa Expressway and Route 58.
The restaurant was the model for NHK’s morning TV drama, and is very popular for its healthy Okinawan cuisine made with ingredients from the field in front of the restaurant!
The restaurant is the ultimate in local production for local consumption, taking only what it will use that day, so it can be said to be free of food loss.
The exterior of the restaurant is a simple old house surrounded by plants. Just looking at the exterior of the house is a comforting experience.
The owner, a woman named “Shoko-san,” grew up watching the self-sufficiency of her ancestors in Ogimi Village, which was famous as a “village of longevity” since she was a child.
Wanting to make this cuisine available to people outside of the village, she gradually renovated her home, built a restaurant, and opened it in 1990.
Since then, the restaurant has remained popular with visitors who come all year round, even from as far away as Yanbaru.
Point 2: What is the recommended menu for “Emi no mise”?
The recommended menu item at “Emi no mise” is the “Makachiku Misore” lunch.
Makachiku-misore” means “leave it to me” in the Okinawan language.
The lunch is colorful and beautifully arranged with 12 different side dishes including rice balls and soup! At the same time, it is a very healthy lunch.
A more luxurious version of the “Makachiku Misore” lunch is the “Longevity Meal” (3,200 yen).
This beautiful dish is made with island vegetables that have a strong character with a slimy and bitter taste.
The menu may vary from time to time as the vegetables are freshly picked in each season, but it is so delicious that you will end up eating every single one of the hearty dishes.
In addition to longevity and makachiku-misoire lunches, the restaurant also offers a variety of other dishes such as bitter melon champuru, fu irichi, rafte-don, and bunagaya curry, as well as drinks unique to the restaurant such as Okinawa zenzai, karaki tea (tea similar to cinnamon tea, but with shikwasa or ginger), and eating yamabara fruit tea. There are also drinks that are unique to this shop.
All of these drinks are unique to this restaurant.
Point 3: The owner of Emi no mise” also published a book related to healthy longevity diet!
There are many teas and other products that are good for the body that are not available in other parts of Okinawa, not only in Ogimi Village, but also in Yanbaru, where nature is abundant and the ingredients are more readily available.
The restaurant was the model for the NHK morning drama “Chimudo-don,” and the story of how a meal that the owner had casually observed since childhood was actually a longevity food has been made into a book.
The first chapter of the book, which is divided into three chapters, features 19 villagers and includes recipes for each family’s prized dishes as well as valuable war stories.
Chapters 2 and 3 introduce Ms. Shoko’s background and career, as well as 24 dishes that she would like to pass on to future generations.
Although the recipes do not include detailed information on quantities, they do include flavor characteristics, cooking methods, and nutritional values, even from a nutritionist’s point of view.
As the restaurant was the model for the NHK morning drama, it quickly became popular and “reservations are required.
It is located in Yanbaru, and its business hours are only from 11:30 to 16:00, but you will be glad you came. Please come and visit us.
