Miyakojima Yakitori Inamura

(PR) This article was produced with the support of the Miyakojima Merchants’ Association.

👋 Haisai! I’m CULT.
Today I’m reviewing a popular Yakitori spot in Miyakojima.
The place is Yakitori Inamura (鳥道楽 稲村), a Yakitori specialty restaurant. Okinawa itself… the food isn’t that special, so I think mainland-style yakitori is something you’ll enjoy. Well… it’s a bit pricey for a full meal, but perfect as a drinking snack.
Unfortunately I had a schedule afterward, so I couldn’t drink ;ㅁ;
If you’re staying nearby, try enjoying some yakitori and a beer.

📌 Inamura’s location

Inamura sits almost right in the heart of downtown Miyako. It’s very accessible, but there isn’t a dedicated parking lot, so you’ll need to use nearby coin parking. Since it’s in town, there are quite a few coin parking lots around. It’s closed every Thursday, and ⏰ the opening hours are from 5:00 PM to 11:00 PM. [Google Maps]

鳥道楽 稲村

Tori Douraku Inamura — Miyakojima’s authentic yakitori specialty shop. A secret sauce that’s been continuously topped up for 30 years.

For authentic yakitori in Miyakojima, try Toridoraku Inamura. The master chef has over 30 years of experience in Tokyo. Enjoy hand-skewered yakitori made with a secret sauce and domestically sourced meat. Happy hour runs from 5:00–7:00 PM.

If you stop by here, they’ll give you a discount on a highball.
It’s called Aozora Portal… They’re currently hard at work preparing and aim to become a company specializing in Okinawa travel. They say they’ll cover a lot about Okinawa from now on, so please look forward to it 😀

When I was in Miyakojima, the weather was almost always nice… but it rained all day that one day. From the photos on their website it looks pretty at night… I pretty much rushed there right at opening. But there was one table with five people sitting and eating yakitori…

From this angle the place looks really small, but once you step inside it’s surprisingly long.

🔍 Checking out the interior vibe

I came alone, so I sat at the bar table..
There are square tables in the dining area that can be pushed together to seat up to about ten people, so it’s good to know that in advance if you’re planning to visit with a group.

While traveling in Miyakojima I felt that this place, even more than Okinawa, almost doesn’t feel like Japan. That’s because almost all the restaurants accept QR payments or credit cards — even the local corner shops take cards..
The reason Alipay appears small in the middle rather than at the top is that Miyakojima isn’t well known to Chinese tourists yet. It’s starting to spread by word of mouth among Koreans, but it’s not like lots of people are coming yet..
So instead of needlessly going to Southeast Asia and risking trouble, how about planning your summer vacation in Miyako?

These are stickers featuring the shop’s name and Goro. I quickly grabbed two.

I thought they’d just take frozen yakitori out and grill it right away… but they were actually threading the meat onto the skewers… Ah — it was obvious it would take a long time, so after ordering I went off to do something else. If you’re planning to have a drink, order a lot in advance. The yakitori takes quite a while to come out.

Do you have Coke Zero? Nope, lol.
Ah—this place really feels like Japan. So I drink Okinawa’s traditional tea, Sanpincha. It’s a jasmine-based tea, and it’s delicious when served cold. Once the ice melts, the flavor drops off quickly…

They grill yakitori, sizzling over the fire.
I heard these cost 220 yen each and thought “that’s pricey,” but since they use chilled (not frozen) meat, I have to admit it’s worth it. Yeah.

It really takes a while — about 20 minutes, I think. Take your time and enjoy a cup of tea or a beer.
By the way, after that the place filled up with locals. The yakitori here isn’t cheap by Miyakojima standards: 220 yen per skewer is pretty expensive for Miyakojima, yet everyone was tucking into skewers… it must be a popular spot. I didn’t hear any language other than Japanese at any table.

I went for the cheapest items on the menu—the 220-yen ones—and ordered numbers 1 through 7 in a row.
If a dish was written in kanji or katakana I recognized, I could tell right away; if it was written in kanji I didn’t know, I couldn’t either, but it was delicious anyway.

They were grilling all the meat and adding toppings, so I watched with anticipation.. Someone next to me made a strange noise, and I was startled and looked over.
“Yaki-onigiri”
What? You grill rice and eat it? Curious, I tried one. This is… a totally new and fascinating food culture I’ve never seen before.

This is the Yakitori with toppings numbered 1 through 7 that I ordered, and the green-onion Yakitori I ordered separately — the cheapest one sold at the lower-right for ¥180.

🍡 Finally, the yakitori is here

They gave us a basic yakitori without toppings on the house. It kind of feels like a little boast—“our meat is great.” Even just eaten plain… it’s delicious. How could this possibly not be tasty…

I’m mixed up too… I can’t tell what’s what.
Anyway, looking at the menu, they have Natto Yakitori, Curry Yakitori, Spicy Doenjang Yakitori, Mentaiko Yakitori, Chicken Neck Yakitori, Edo Soy Sauce Yakitori, and Katsuobushi Yakitori. Maybe the photos will jog my memory…

Seeing it like this, I kind of remember what it was… but I want to eat it again. I might have Yakitori for dinner tomorrow…

This is… just grilled green onions. From what I remember, Korean green onions tend to be a bit tough — when grilled they linger in your mouth, so I didn’t really prefer them. These, more like the European kind, are delicious when grilled. You don’t need to dip them in soy sauce or anything; they’re already seasoned.

This is natto yakitori.
Since it’s natto… it doesn’t really get stuck in your teeth or feel bothersome. It’s kind of less sticky than you’d expect from natto, which I like. It’s clean. And because the meat itself is tasty, pretty much anything you put on it turns out delicious.

Yakitori topped with mentaiko. If you’ve been to Japan many times, you’ve probably had a lot of mentaiko, right? It’s just… delicious.

The name says “Edo soy sauce Yakitori”… but I don’t know what Edo soy sauce is. Maybe the Edo period from Japanese history?
Is it a soy sauce style you eat in Tokyo? I don’t really know what that means… Anyway, I enjoyed it—yum yum.

It’s topped with katsuobushi and mayonnaise. The meat itself is so good that you can throw on pretty much anything and it’ll still taste delicious…

🍗 Tori no Tataki

Since the yakitori wasn’t quite enough, I also ordered something called Tori no Tataki. ¥800.
It’s a dish where the outer part of the chicken thigh is lightly seared and then chilled in ice water. Do they have something like this in Korea…? Don’t they fry everything there?

It’s not really yukhoe, and it’s not the texture of sashimi either. Ah… how do I explain it..
Kind of like the fresh bite when the fried coating and the chicken skin separate on a drumstick? Anyway… this only costs 800 yen, so try it yourself — recommended.

Here… there’s some really expensive salt. They have Yukishio salt, so try it once before buying souvenirs. That one is insanely pricey… the third one…

🍽️ Wrapping up

Next time I visit, I’d like to try some of the other dishes. I visit Miyakojima regularly, so I’ll probably be back.

Anyway… I ate very deliciously by myself. Expect to pay roughly 3,000 yen per person.
It’s a pretty well-known yakitori spot around here, and the meat is tasty… If Miyako Soba gave you a food shock, how about enjoying yakitori for dinner? Take a look at the menu via the link above.
That’s it for today — I’ll sign off here and come back tomorrow with more Okinawa travel info. Matayasai 👋

• Ohama Terrace — enjoy Miyakojima’s beautiful sea and curry