About 20 minutes by car from Naha Airport. A very inexpensive diner located in a residential area of Tsuboya, Naha City. The restaurant is run by an elderly lady who is over 90 years old, and her friendly service will warm your heart!
Point 1: In the middle of a residential area! What is the location of Genki Shokudo?
Genki Shokudo” is a restaurant located in Tsubo 2-chome, Naha City. The area is east of Yachimun Street, near Asato, and may not be familiar to tourists.
It is marked by a cheerful sign in a unique font, “Genki Shokudo,” in the middle of a hill.
The owner, who is over 90 years old, has been running the restaurant for more than 60 years. She is a very pretty lady with makeup and red lipstick on.
She basically runs the restaurant by herself, but she sometimes gets help.
From Naha Airport, it takes about 20 minutes to get there without getting lost if you take Route 58 and Kainan Seseragi Dori. From the direction of Naha Airport, remember to turn left at the next traffic light after the Tsuboya intersection.
If you are not driving, it is about a 12-minute walk along Route 330 from Asato Station on the Yui Rail.
In any case, this is an area not often visited by tourists, so you may be able to experience something unknown!
Point 2: What is the menu in “Genki Shokudo” like?
The menu at “Genki Shokudo” now consists mostly of tempura and Okinawan soba.
The restaurant still serves curry rice, omelet rice, grilled rice, sashimi, and other dishes that used to be available for order, but now they rarely serve those dishes, and most days the food available in the restaurant is limited to “Okinawa soba” (500 yen) or tempura.
Also, there are days when they make sataa andagi (Okinawan dough) if the lady is in good health!
It is nice to see her continuing her work in a relaxed manner without overdoing it!
Point 3: What kind of tempura menu does “Genki Shokudo” have?
Tempura is now a mainstay on the menu at Genki Shokudo, along with Okinawa soba on the inside menu. Tempura in Okinawa is slightly different from tempura on the mainland, and is more like “satsuma-age”.
Tempura includes fish, squid, potatoes, vegetables, and asa (Japanese chives), and they are all well seasoned and very tasty! The fact that these are only 60 yen each is also amazing!
Many people take them out, and some cab drivers even buy 10 of them.
When I was eating my Okinawa soba, I was served a carrot shiriririri. and “Please come again! The old lady’s kindness oozes out of this diner. I hope that the diner will continue to operate for as long as it can.
