Top 3 Restaurants in Okinawa for the First Half of 2025
👋 Haisai! I’m CULT.
Today’s Okinawa food story is about the top 3 best restaurants of the first half of 2025. This is a segment where I introduce and summarise the restaurants I visited in Okinawa, divided into the first and second halves of the year. In 2025, I visited around 80 restaurants in Okinawa and uploaded a total of 57 posts on NAVER Blog. Since Cultravel opened on June 7th, I haven’t uploaded all the data yet, but I promise to gradually edit and present it in a way that’s easy for you to view 🤗
Anyway, the criteria for selecting the best of the first half of 2025… First of all, it has to be to my liking. (Most important)
And any advertising PR is strictly excluded. Although there are sponsored posts on NAVER Blog, they haven’t been uploaded to Cultravel yet, and if there is any advertising PR, it will be clearly marked. Of course, advertising PR cannot be ranked in the top 3 of either half.
That was a bit long-winded, wasn’t it? Let’s get started right away!
🍡 The Best Yakitori Specialist: Kushiya Yamashiro (串家やましろ)
The first place I’d like to introduce is Kushiya Yamashiro, a yakitori speciality restaurant located in the southern part of Okinawa. It’s actually more like an izakaya. Initially, I was pondering, “How can I encourage more people to travel to southern Okinawa?” This thought led me to visit this restaurant by chance while photographing the attractions in southern Okinawa.
The southern region is characterised by many affordable Okinawan eateries, as well as numerous historical sites and sunrise spots. Taking a tour of Kudaka Island is also an option. Since this restaurant only opens in the evening, I’ll continue to introduce what you can enjoy during the day and what you might do before visiting at night. Don’t worry and consider adding a trip to southern Okinawa to your itinerary!
There are many attractions worth visiting in the south, and after exploring these places, ending the day with yakitori and champuru at Kushiya Yamashiro, along with a light glass of awamori, might just make for a perfect day.
You can enjoy an 8-piece yakitori assortment for just 1,000 yen, and I must say, it’s the best yakitori I’ve tasted in Okinawa. I can confidently recommend this restaurant to you. Do visit it.
Yakitori is delicious, but karaage is also delightful. It’s a Japanese-style fried chicken that you can enjoy lightly, and if you have picky eaters like children or elderly people in your group, it might be easier to get their approval for a visit, don’t you think?
And Champuru is perfect as a snack with Awamori. In Okinawan dialect, it means to stir-fry, and it is a dish made by stir-frying meat and Okinawan vegetables. If you come to Okinawa, Champuru is a traditional dish you must try.
The restaurant is located in the southern part of Okinawa, near Okinawa World and Mibaru Beach, and it’s not far from Ojima Island, known for its cats. There are also many budget-friendly hotels in the area, so planning your travel itinerary should be easy. The restaurant is closed every Sunday and Monday, and ⏰ opening hours are from 6 PM to 11 PM. [Google Map]
🍔 The Most Delicious Handmade Burger in Okinawa: NoBi
The next Okinawa eatery I want to introduce is NoBi, a gourmet burger truck located on Kouri Island in the north. I stumbled upon this burger joint while pondering the question, “Why aren’t there any good restaurants in Okinawa?” It was the first time since arriving in Okinawa that I felt the food was truly delicious. The burger buns were soft, and the combination of sauce and meat was well-balanced, making it the tastiest thing I had in the first half of 2025. Whenever I visit the north for a snap shoot in Okinawa, I always recommend this place, and everyone agrees it’s delicious. However, many people have mentioned that the portions are large, so there’s no need for each person to order their own meal. I also find the portions quite generous, and the prices are accordingly high.
And here you can find a unique type of chips, where you can taste Spam fries made to look like chips. Okinawa experienced the Pacific War, and since then, the US military has been stationed here, influencing the local diet with Spam from the military bases. This has led to a food culture where Spam frequently appears. Okinawa offers the chance to experience a variety of Spam-based dishes, and isn’t experiencing such things what travel is all about?
The food truck is located in the open parking lot that appears immediately after turning right upon crossing the Kouri Bridge. As there is only one outdoor table, I recommend eating inside your vehicle or heading to a nearby outdoor table. It’s quite hot in the summer 🪭. Also, ⏰ opening hours are from 10 AM to 6 PM daily. [Google Map]
- Related post: The Best Handmade Burger in Okinawa, NoBi
🍣 Delicious Izakaya Akachouchin in the North
Lastly, there’s the izakaya Akachouchin (あかちょうちん) located in the northern part of Okinawa. When travelling around northern Okinawa, it can be quite challenging to find a suitable place for dinner. That’s why I recommend this izakaya in Nago. The food here is delicious, and the atmosphere has a lovely local Japanese feel to it. Even if you order slightly more upscale dishes, the prices are not overwhelming, making it a great dining spot in Okinawa. The spicy miso-grilled beef tripe is particularly tasty, so do give it a try. You can’t enjoy beef tripe at this price in Korea.
The special assorted sushi with 14 pieces is astonishing both in price and quality. It felt almost too good to be true to enjoy such delicious food at this price. Although I’m not particularly picky and tend to eat anything, being able to savour thick slices of fish on sushi at this price is truly a blessing. This is a place I would definitely want to visit with friends or acquaintances when they come to Okinawa. Of course, I can recommend it to you as well 👍
The restaurant is located in Nago City, in the northern part of Okinawa. If you’re travelling north by rental car, you’ll likely pass nearby. There are many affordable accommodations in the area, as well as places like 21st Century Forest Beach and Nago Citizen Beach, making it a convenient location in many ways. The restaurant is closed every Tuesday, and ⏰ opening hours are from 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM (lunch menu) and after a break, from 5:30 PM to 10:00 PM. The dishes introduced today are available only during dinner time. [Google Map]
- Related post: Delicious Izakaya Akachouchin in the North
📝 In Conclusion…
This concludes the special feature on the top 3 restaurants in Okinawa for the first half of 2025. I’m already excited at the thought of planning a more extensive post on Okinawa’s top eateries by the end of the year.
These are, of course, my personal opinions, so if you know of any better or tastier places, please do recommend them. My goal is to visit every restaurant in Okinawa, but if you have suggestions, the order might change a bit.
So, I’ll wrap up this post on the top restaurants in Okinawa for the first half of the year. I’ll be back tomorrow with more Okinawa travel information. Matayasai 👋
