About 38 minutes by car from Naha Airport. This bagel specialty store is located on the first floor of a 28-room petit hotel in Miyagi, Chatan-cho, central Okinawa Island. Since the Kadena Air Base is nearby, there are almost exclusively foreigners walking around, giving the illusion that you have come to a different place from Okinawa.
Point 1: Is the area around Wake & Bagel like a foreign country? What is the location of Wake&Bagel?
Wake & Bagel is located in the Miyagi area north of Chatan-cho, in the central part of Okinawa’s main island.
It is about a 38-minute drive from Naha Airport. It is about a 5-minute drive to American Village, but tourists do not often come to the Miyagi area, so it is an area where almost only foreigners from the U.S. military walk around.
By bus, take Ryukyu Bus No. 120 bound for the International Passenger Terminal (for Naha Bus Terminal), get off at “Kuki-tai Iriguchi” (for Yomitan and Nago), and walk 13 minutes from there. Since there are no transfers, access is relatively easy.
Even the restaurants are not as crowded as those in American Village, and you will not get tired of waiting in line for your turn, making it the perfect place to relax and enjoy the ocean.
This “Wake & Bagel” (Wake & Bagel) has a stylish storefront as shown in the photo.
It is indeed a bagel and baked goods store owned by “MILL by Timeless,” an affiliate of “Timeless Chocolate,” a famous chocolate store in Okinawa.
The store has some seating, but it is basically a to-go store and is mainly for take-out.
There is a beach nearby, so it is nice to eat while enjoying the ocean breeze by the sea!
Point 2: Introduction of “Wake&Bagel” bagel menu!
Wake & Bagel” is not so different from a hamburger in terms of quantity, and you can think of it as a bun turned into a bagel.
Some bagels, such as the ham and cheese and peanut butter bagels, are smaller, but the most popular bagels are the ones with a large filling.
The most popular is the “Big Blekkie” bagel shown in the photo, with beef patties, hash browns (potatoes), bacon, a fried egg, BBQ sauce, and mayonnaise. (1,800 yen).
The second most popular dish is the BEC (bacon, egg, and cheese) at 1,350 yen, which is bacon, cheese omelet, and mayonnaise sauce on top, with relatively little filling.
The third most popular bagel is the refreshing LOX (cream cheese & smoked salmon) (1,650 yen), a very easy-to-eat bagel accented with capers.
Other popular items include the OKINAWAN (1,500 yen) with luncheon meat and cheese omelet, and the Vegetable (1,500 yen) with hummus, avocado, tomato, lettuce, and red onion, which is unique to the area with a large foreign population.
If you register in advance, you can also use Uber Eats, which is very convenient! (Uber Eats is available until 14:30)
Point 3: What is the secret of the chunky dough of “Wake&Bagel”?
The bagel dough at “wake&bagel” is a homemade sourdough bagel with natural yeast, made from “Shimamamugi Kanasan” wheat grown in Okinawa, which is pesticide-free and chemical fertilizer-free, and “Kitano Haru” flour from Hokkaido.
As those who are a little familiar with bagels may be able to guess, the characteristic of sourdough is that it is crispy on the surface chunky on the inside, and very flavorful.
Furthermore, the ingredients used are uncompromisingly meticulous: millet sugar from Okinawa, salt from Hamahiga Island, and natural water from Kumejima Island.
This dough is baked in the stone kiln of the developer, “MILL by TIMELESS,” and used as the buns for the bagels.
The dough, which took a total of two years to develop, is nothing if not delicious! Like its mother company, “Timeless Chocolate,” the result of their persistence shows in the taste.
Even Americans living in Okinawa approve of the crispy surface and chewy inside of the bagel, “Wake&Bagel”.
