👋 Haisai! I’m CULT.
Today, I’d like to tell you about my favourite café in Okinawa, Café Ys.
I’ve been visiting since last January, and it’s the kind of place I go to when I don’t feel like working from home. It’s usually quiet on weekday afternoons, making it perfect for ordering a frappe or waffle and taking your time to relax. I highly recommend you visit. It’s a fantastic café 👍

📌 Location and Opening Hours of Cafe Ys

The location of Cafe Ys is near Miebashi Station on Kokusai Street. It’s not far, and since there are many hotels nearby, if you haven’t opted for breakfast at your accommodation, having breakfast here is quite a good choice. It is closed every Sunday ⏰ Opening hours are from 8 AM to 8 PM. [Google Map]
Breakfast menu is available from 8 AM to 11 AM, and the lunch menu is from 11:30 AM to 2 PM. If you visit between 11 AM and 11:30 AM, you can choose between breakfast or brunch.

This is the interior of Café Ys.
When I first visited this café, it reminded me of Café Poirot from the Japanese animation Detective Conan. In fact, there is a Bourbon St. sign inside, which fans of the Detective Conan animation will immediately recognise.
I actually feel that Café Ys has a more authentic Café Poirot vibe than the themed Café Poirot itself, which is why I really like this café.

The menu is available in both Japanese and English. I always say I don’t need the English menu, but since I speak in broken Japanese, they always ask if I need it. The prices of the café’s menu items range from 500 yen to 1,000 yen, making it easy to enjoy without worry. That’s why I often order several items. The breakfast menu offers great value for money, so I order two dishes to enjoy a hearty morning meal.

☕️ Menu at Cafe Ys

This is the basic coffee of this café. It seems they use UCC products as their brand coffee, and it’s quite tasty for a brand coffee. It’s not that they use some extraordinarily special beans or anything… You can watch the coffee being brewed, and it’s quite a unique experience as they don’t use the typical coffee machine we’re familiar with, but instead, they brew the coffee using a coffee net, which is something you don’t often see.

This is how the coffee is brewed. Should we call it filter coffee?
Watching this process while enjoying your coffee makes it impossible for it not to taste good. And that bow tie is a trademark. No matter when you visit, he always wears a bow tie. It makes the café feel even more special. 👍

The first item on the menu is the breakfast mixed sandwich. Priced at 650 yen, it includes one sandwich and a cup of branded coffee. In my opinion, it’s a small portion, but considering the price, I think it’s an excellent offering.

Here is a detailed view. Unfortunately, it’s not vegan as it contains eggs. I think it’s a really good option for breakfast.

I visited again a few days later.
This time, I went in the afternoon and ordered coffee and waffles separately. The crockery for the coffee that comes with the breakfast menu is a bit simple, but if you pay the full price of 500 yen for the coffee, the coffee cup seems to be a bit more elaborate. I was a bit embarrassed to ask, but it’s always like that. Whenever I pay the full 500 yen for coffee, the cup is always fancy.
I don’t usually like to mix anything into my coffee, but just to show that they provide creamer, I mixed it in today as a special exception.

This is a fruit waffle, allowing you to enjoy waffles with a variety of fruits.
In Korea, there are quite a few mothers who insist on having fruit after meals. I understand it’s out of care for their families, but fruit is incredibly expensive in Korea, almost ten times the price in Europe. While fruit is also quite pricey in Japan, it’s not as expensive as in Korea.
When you order a fruit waffle, you can enjoy a small selection of different fruits, so it’s a great idea to go for dessert 🥝

Next up is the strawberry frappe 🍓
This is… a very everyday menu item for me, something I just pop into Café Ys for when the weather is hot. I’ve memorised the price as 600 yen.

The dessert is like a simple shaved ice with strawberry syrup, similar to Japanese-style shaved ice. The name seems to be Ichigo Kakigori, but the charming owner calls it Ichigo Frappe, so that’s what it is. Anyway, I really like this 🍧

Here is another breakfast menu option: the waffle set. It costs 650 yen.
It was a particularly hot day, and when I ordered, I was given the choice between hot and cold coffee, so I opted for the cold one. This way, you get iced coffee with floating ice cubes and waffles. The waffles are a bit simple since it’s a breakfast menu, but they’re freshly made and delicious.

If you drizzle the maple syrup just right, it tastes delicious. Be sure to control the amount for blood sugar management 🧇

Next is the fruit frappe. The price is 700 yen.
In the English FRAPPE menu, it resembles a shaved ice dessert, but this is a separate frappe above that menu. This is indeed the frappe I was familiar with. It’s not just fruit on top; as you continue eating, you’ll find fruit pieces inside, adding to the enjoyment.

Next up is the final breakfast menu item: toast. The price is also 550 yen. You get a perfectly toasted slice of bread with strawberry jam and a cup of coffee. You can choose between hot and iced coffee.

As it’s the cheapest option, it comes with the simplest setup. Just spread some strawberry jam like this and enjoy 🥪

Here is the omelette set. 650 yen
It includes a small salad, toast, and an omelette with ham. This is the most substantial breakfast option available at Cafe Ys.

The first omelette I ever tried was a wine-infused, boozy omelette at Mont Saint-Michel Abbey in France, which was quite difficult to eat with a fork. However, Japan has so many dishes that are easy to eat, which I find delightful. It was a sweet taste perfect for a pleasant morning. 🍳

Of course, a cup of coffee is served alongside, and we requested one iced coffee and one hot coffee. Personally, I think the hot coffee tastes better. The coffee here is originally delicious ☕️

The last one is the Shirokuma Frappe. It costs 800 yen.
It comes with shaved ice and a variety of fruits on top. It’s definitely the best choice for a hot day.

Recently, the price of fruit in Okinawa has been quite high, and perhaps that’s why the amount of fruit seems slightly less than when I had it in the past. However, the price hasn’t gone up. Well, I’m still satisfied. Enjoying it on a hot day is refreshing and pleasant. Normally, I would have gone for a 600 yen strawberry frappe, but to show you a variety of options, today I decided to try the Shirokuma frappe.

🌸 In Conclusion…

After finishing the meal and preparing to pay, the owner mentioned wanting to offer a little something extra, so they gave us some zenzai. I’m not entirely sure if it was zenzai, but since red beans were the main topping, I think it probably was. It was delicious too. I highly recommend visiting Café Ys if you find yourself on Kokusai Street. It’s especially a great spot if you’ve booked a hotel without breakfast.

This is how it looks after a delicious meal. I always think of it as the best café that never disappoints me. If you visit Kokusai Street, I highly recommend stopping by for a simple dessert. 👍

When you search for cafés on Google Maps, there are many places that are cafés in name only but are actually more like restaurants. When you visit, you’ll find they focus more on meals than coffee. Personally, I don’t like those, but this place is truly a café.

That’s all for today. I’ll wrap it up here and come back tomorrow with more Okinawa travel information. Matayasai 👋