Approximately 14 minutes by car from Naha Airport. From Yui Rail Miebashi Station, this ice cream specialty store is a 6-minute walk away. It is a very popular ice cream store despite the fact that it has a strong rival in Okinawa, Blue Seal. Once you try the voluminous ice cream with many toppings, you will become addicted to it.
Point 1: “Night Breeze Ice Cream Naha” Why ice cream in the night breeze, you ask?
The main branch of Yakaze ni Ice Naha opened in Okinawa City on July 1, 2022, and the Naha branch just opened here on January 10, 2023.
Moreover, the reason for the “Night Breeze” naming was that the main store in Okinawa City only opens at 5:00 p.m. on weekdays.
Although the newly opened Naha branch is located a little off Kokusai Dori, it is tough to open only at night! So they decided to open at noon.
Instead, this restaurant is open until midnight, while many restaurants on Kokusai-dori close at 10:00 p.m.
Steak is the standard after-drinking meal in Okinawa, but it seems that a new standard of “ice cream afterward” will be born!
Point 2: What is the menu of “Night Breeze Ice Cream Naha” like?
Although it is named “Night Wind Ice Cream Naha,” what is actually served at the restaurant is not ice cream but a parfait in a cup.
There is a visually pleasing lineup of parfaits, including one with corn flakes on the bottom, plenty of ice cream on top, red sweet potato or green tea mont blanc (both priced at 650 yen), and, for a limited time only, “daigaimo” (sweet potato) in a generous amount of cream.
The red sweet potato, green tea, and other Mont Blanc toppings are filled to the brim with Mont Blanc, but the vanilla ice cream inside is milky and refreshing, not too sweet, so it is a sinful parfait that is not too heavy to eat in the middle of the night.
There are about 18 other toppings, including a modest and rich Earl Grey chocolate whip, chocolate banana, strawberry, tiramisu soft, black sesame, black honey soybean flour, chocolate mint, and crème brûlée.
Prices range from 550 yen to 650 yen. The volume is generous and the ingredients seem to be good, but considering the cost of living in Okinawa, the price is a bit steep!
Point 3: What are the troubling points of “Night Breeze Ice Cream Naha”?
Yakaze ni Ice Naha” is located a little off Kokusai-dori, near Miebashi Station on the Yui Rail. It is fine if you have a hotel nearby or if you come to the store on foot, but if you are driving, there is no place to park, so you have to park at a nearby coin parking lot and pay 300 yen.
Therefore, it will cost at least almost 1,000 yen to buy one ice cream, and if there is a line, the time will be extended even longer and the parking fee may be higher. Especially in summer, you will have to wait in line under the hot sun, so you need to take all possible measures if you have children with you.
Also, you may want to take pictures of the cute visuals and upload them to your Instagram.
The best spot for Instagram is the neon sign that reads “Ice Cream in the Night Breeze,” but there is always a line of people waiting to get in front of it, making it impossible to take pictures.
That said, it’s even more difficult to take pictures inside the store because it’s so small and dark in the eat-in area.
I am writing this because the restaurant has only been open for a short time and I have high expectations for it.
If they could improve these points, we would be able to enjoy our parfait more happily, wouldn’t we?
