NIPPONIA No. 42 September 15, 2007
Bon Appetit! Japanese Culture in the Kitchen
Local Food from a Market in Okinawa
The Makishi Public Market in the central part of Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, has plenty of produce from the land and the sea. It is a busy place where you can get a good idea of the rich variety of local food for the table.
Written by Torikai Shin-ichi Photos by Ikeda Tsuyoshi and Sakamoto Masafumi
The second floor of the market has a number of restaurants serving Okinawan cuisine like fried thin somen wheat noodles (left). Some cooks will prepare food that you bought at the market downstairs. You could, for example, buy coconut crabs and get the restaurant to steam them for you (right), to eat there.
Colorful fish from the southern sea. Can be eaten raw as sashimi.
