About a minute’s drive from Naha Airport. It is a coffee specialty located in Yaeshima, Okinawa City, in the central part of the main island of Okinawa. Originally an A-sign bar, it was renovated. It was opened as a coffee house where you can listen to classical music, leaving the tasteful parts intact. Audiophiles and photography enthusiasts who heard the rumor come here, and it is still a place for local people to chat.
Point 1: Former “New Koza” entertainment district! What is the history of Coffee House Hibiki and its location?
Coffee House Hibiki is located in a corner of the “New Koza entertainment district” in Yaeshima, north of Okinawa City, which used to be called Koza.
This entertainment district existed in the U.S.-era Okinawa just after the end of the war.
At that time, restaurants and eateries authorized by the U.S. military were called “A-signs,” and even today, there are restaurants and eateries all over Okinawa Island that display the “A-sign” as their interior design.
The predecessor bar of “Coffee House Hibiki” existed in the 1950s, before “Central Park Avenue Street” became a downtown area in the same Okinawa City.
The downtown area, called “New Koza,” was visited by U.S. soldiers night after night and flourished until shortly after Okinawa’s reversion to Japan, but it eventually fell into disuse.
There were other shopping areas on the main island of Okinawa, such as in Kanamu and Henoko.
2009, the owner, Morio Sugama, opened a coffee shop in August 2009, hoping to do something in a place where the pre-Return to Okinawa Koza remained.
He opened the café as a place to listen to classical music to add character.
Yaejima is located in the northern part of Okinawa City, about 10 minutes away from the Okinawa Expressway’s Okinawa-Minami Interchange.
From Naha Airport, it takes only about 40 minutes via Okinawa Expressway.
Furthermore, even by bus, you can take Ryukyu Bus No. 190, get off at Kamara, and walk 18 minutes to get there.
Even if it seems difficult to get there, it is nice to know that it is only one bus ride away.
Point 2: Introduction of the interior of “Coffee House Hibiki”!
As you can see, the exterior of Coffee House Hibiki is covered with concrete walls and there is not a single signboard.
Inside, there is a long wooden counter in which the master makes coffee and regular customers chat.
One thing that catches the eye is the huge English-made “Tannoy” speakers.
The master, who must have been quite into audio when he was young, also did the interior and audio modifications himself.
Well, the deep sound, different from today’s smartphone speakers, is fresh in return.
Was the sound of analog records so wonderful? Even the junior baby boomers of the Showa era (1926-1989) thought, “I never knew the sound of analog records was so great,” but how on earth do the Heisei and Z generations feel?
Point 3: There is only one menu! Introducing the menu at Coffee House Hibiki!
Coffee House Hibiki used to offer only a drink set with a daily cake but has now added juices and light meals such as pizza toast, hot sandwiches, and taco rice.
Drinks include “Koza Blend” from the long-established local coffee shop Yoshimoto Coffee, organic coffee, juices such as pomegranate raspberry and lemon squash, and non-alcoholic beer.
Drink prices range from 500 to 800 yen. Light meal sets are priced from 1,000 to 1,400 yen. Prices have risen considerably since the establishment when the cake set was 400 yen.
Coffee is served in a classic vintage cup.
The Koza blend may be the reason, but I was surprised at how different the taste of coffee is depending on the cup.
The coffee is drip-fed by the master at the counter, and the regulars “lounge” around enjoying it and cake.
It is a nice thing about Okinawa that even if tourists are mixed in with the customers, they can enjoy the coffee and Yuntaku as equals without feeling any discomfort.
The right way to spend time at this store is not to sip coffee alone, but to join in and “YUNTAKU” with your friends.
