Kokusai-dori New Cotobuki

Haisai, CULT here!
I now have six days left before I completely leave Okinawa.
So before I go… I’ll share one more of Okinawa’s truly great local spots. No matter what, the most delicious of Okinawa’s noodle dishes is Menya Dungeon’s Tsukemen, but for ramen with broth, New Cotobuki is also very tasty. It’s tucked away in a back alley off Kokusai-dori, giving it a very local feel, and of course the ramen is delicious — it’s a great place except for the fact that they don’t open on weekdays.
The unusual thing is… this place isn’t one you can just drop into whenever you want. They post opening dates on Instagram, so be sure to check before you go. It’s definitely worth it.

New Cotobuki — Location and Opening Hours

The shop is tucked down an alley off Kokusai-dori. It’s not easy to spot from the main street, so please open Google Maps before you visit. They’re only open about 2–3 days a week, so be sure to check the schedule. Hours are from 6:00 PM to 11:00 PM. [Google Maps]

The shop’s exterior is… really shabby… it looks very old. It’s kind of one of the few places in Okinawa that actually feels Japanese. I’ve been living in Okinawa for a year and three months, and I hardly think of it as Japanese anymore -_-;;

The largest seating is a table for six, and there’s a bar counter plus two two-person tables. The place is small. If you’re traveling with a large group you’ll need to split up a bit… but this spot is worth it.

A restaurant that prepares only one menu item per day

There is a menu board, but you don’t get to choose.
That’s because… they only serve one menu item each day. In the low season they’re open just 2–3 days a week, and in peak season about 3–4 days. They’ve set things up to make only one ramen per day, and it’s really delicious.
Highly recommended for ramen enthusiasts.

This place… well… is more for hardcore ramen fans than for people who just want a casual bowl. If you’re after something casual… you’d be better off going to Ichiran or Danbo Ramen…

I don’t even know exactly what I ate, but it was delicious. Whenever there was a weekend shoot on Kokusai-dori, I always stopped by after the night shoot… It’s mostly locals… I deliberately didn’t write about it because I hate standing in line. I’m not going to tell you the very best spot — I want to keep it for myself, ahem haha
Now that I’m leaving Okinawa, you should go check it out too. It’s not that the other places I posted about aren’t tasty — they are, but I figured I wouldn’t go there often, so I posted them. This place is one I go to all the time, so I didn’t write about it.

Seeing the corn, it looks like some kind of Hokkaido-style ramen…

Something I didn’t mention: even if you push several of those two-person tables together, the maximum is six people. This place is very popular, so if a family of six wants to eat together, either be there right at the 6:00 PM opening or go around 8:30–9:00 PM when it’s quieter. It gets busy between 6:30 and 7:30, and Fridays are total chaos.

That day’s menu featured samgyeopsal.
On other days, they grill different kinds of meat.

I hardly ever post photos of alcohol in my restaurant posts, you know? I always have to drive.. so I can’t post them..
This place is close to my home, and it’s on the way back after shooting on Kokusai Street, so I can go even more often… I even have a beer by myself. If I drink alone here.. it means it’s insanely good.
I’m even willing to drink the terribly awful Orion Draft..
To explain.. I lived in Prague for 11 years before coming to Okinawa.. and I find that all Japanese beers don’t taste good to me.

Here’s another menu item.
Everything’s delicious, so… I stop by every time they open, like trying a random favorite spot.

It’s not the same as the menu that was above… the ingredients and the broth taste completely different.
Just for the concept… they didn’t even list the menu names — you’ll have more fun if you go in feeling like you’re eating a random ramen, right?

The previous ramen was a bit heavy, but this one has a light, clean chicken-broth taste.

Around nine o’clock or so… that day the night shoot on Kokusai-dori ended at 8:30…

A goblin-like shop… it only opens on the days when the bowls are painted, so be sure to check New Cotobuki’s Instagram. @new.cotobuki

There’s a menu, but… you don’t really have a choice..
When you sit down, they tell you which specific ramen are available today and only show photos on the menu. What you can choose is… things like adding extra meat as a topping, upsizing (oomori) or getting a double portion, adding extra noodles, and ordering a beer, cola, or other drink — that’s about it.

This is pretty clearly Tantanmen
I’m not really a fan of the Japanese ramen style called Tantanmen. I picked randomly… I struck out today, but it was still a tasty Tantanmen.

A slightly salty, thick, and rich flavor

It was delicious. I even drank every last drop of the broth.

Juushi is an Okinawa-style fried rice.
On family trips, older relatives usually tend to like it. Okinawa soba is often disliked by seniors—some even strongly dislike it—but Juushi fried rice, on the other hand, generally doesn’t split their opinions. I like it too.

This is the same ramen I had the first time. You don’t need to worry that the pork belly looks too big to eat — the meat is tender. It’s kind of like they boiled the pork belly to make suyuk, removed some of the moisture, then finished it on a griddle so it has that grilled pork-belly feel. It comes apart easily with your teeth.

This is the menu item I’ve eaten most often at Kotobuki. It’s random, so you never know what you’ll get.

Jushi… please just eat it as is… don’t ruin it..
Jushi is delicious with rice on its own. This is just for show.

This wraps up my second post about my favorite Okinawa eateries. Cotobuki is a really tasty place—if you visit Okinawa, be sure to check it out. The atmosphere is lovely and the ramen is delicious. Best of all… you don’t have to waste time queuing like at Danbo Ramen.
This place is also one I’d definitely put on my must-visit list if I return to Okinawa on business or for travel.
I really like this restaurant. New Cotobuki is a place I wholeheartedly recommend, so if you visit Kokusai Street in Okinawa, be sure to drop by.

• Delicious Gyukatsu Motomura near New Cotobuki
• My favorite tsukemen specialty shop, Menya Dogen
• Nearby Sanukiya where you can enjoy affordable, light Japanese fare