About 25 minutes by car from Naha Airport. It is a restaurant located in Itoman City in the southern part of Okinawa’s main island. It is a diner that also serves rice, but it is famous for its Okinawa Zenzai (sweet bean soup) and shaved ice with cute fruit displays of eyes, nose, and mouth! The visual cuteness is what makes it a winner!
Point 1: 14 minutes drive to Peace Memorial Park! What is the location of Inami-Nei Chilled Restaurant?
Inaminami Cold Yashimono is a diner located in Itoman City in the southern part of Okinawa’s main island. It is basically a diner that serves Okinawa soba and Chanpuru, but it has become famous for its Okinawa Zenzai and shaved ice with cute fruit displays of eyes, nose, and mouth, and now its main dish is chilled yakimono.
The location of this store is in the northern part of Itoman City, which is relatively convenient as it is only a 9-minute drive from the Southern Beach Hotel, which is as close to Tomigusuku City as possible.
By car, it is almost a 25-minute drive from the airport via National Route 331. By bus, you can take the Ryukyu Bus No. 189 bound for Naha Airport International Terminal (for Naha Bus Terminal), get off at Itoman Terminal, and walk 8 minutes to the hotel.
It is easy to get to the restaurant by either car or bus!
The exterior of the restaurant looks like an old-fashioned restaurant. Inside, there is a tatami room and four tables.
First, you get a cup of cold tea from the self-serve machine! Which Zenzai would you like today?
Point 2: Introduction of the shaved ice menu at “Inamine Chilled Ice Shop”!
First of all, the name of this restaurant, “Chilled Yashimono Restaurant,” which is not so common in mainland Japan, may make some people want to try it. In Okinawa, it is not so unusual to hear the phrase “Chiyasimono” in the name of a restaurant.
In hot Okinawa, just hearing the phrase “chilled Yasimono” makes you feel like your body temperature has dropped a little.
First of all, let me tell you how great “Inami-Ne Chilled Yashimono” is.
There are countless Okinawan Zenzai stores, but this store, along with Sennichi, Fujiya, and Higashi Shokudo, is considered to be one of the “four best Zenzai stores in Okinawa.
Even such a store could not survive without differentiating itself from the countless Okinawa Zenzai stores, so it adopted a strategy of using fruits such as mandarin oranges and cherries, and black beans to express the eyes, nose, and mouth of animals in its Zenzai to make it look cute and Instagram-worthy, and it was a great success!
Nowadays, young people also visit the shop and upload numerous cute Zenzai pictures on their Instagram.
If you look closely, you can see that each Zenzai has a unique expression, such as a cherry in its mouth or on its head. You can catch a glimpse of the store owner’s playful spirit!
The photo shows the most popular and standard “Shirokuma,” but under the ice with its cute display of eyes, nose, and mouth is a large Kintoki-Mame (red kidney bean) cooked with brown sugar and other ingredients, which gives it a natural sweetness without using any sweeteners.
The Okinawa Zenzai contains large Kintoki-Mame (red kidney beans) under a fluffy layer of shaved ice and is blissfully delicious! The elasticity of the Shiratama (white bean curd) is also a nice touch.
In addition to the animal Okinawa Zenzai, there are 16 other chilled items, including Uji Kintoki, brown sugar Zenzai, banana spread, chocolate parfait, and more. The menu of chilled items is very extensive! (370~700 yen)
Point 3: “Inami-ne Chiyasumo Restaurant” is also quite good for Okinawan soba!
Inami-Ne Chilled Restaurant is a restaurant, so it also serves Okinawa soba (large, 650 yen). The restaurant’s Okinawa soba is a traditional, comforting noodle dish with a good mix of bonito and animal broth and toppings such as soft-bone Soki, egg, and kamaboko (fish paste).
The nostalgic yet strong flavors of the past are also evident.
Another popular item on the menu is yakisoba made with Okinawan soba noodles.
What’s more, they also have taco rice, curry, and omelet rice.
Since the restaurant is frequented by locals, it is characterized by having a very ordinary menu as well.
Please visit “Inami-ne Chilled Noodle Shop” where they put eyes, nose, and mouth on Okinawan Zenzai to make it look cute, but they also have a menu that does not appeal to tourists!
