Okinawa Hai fallback

CONTRIBUTED BY KAHO

My American friend asked me about “Kurozato (Okianawan black sugar)” and Okinawan salt that her family in the States would like to have.  I looked them up on-line and thought “I can write about this!”  Okinawan sugar and salt would make good souvenirs.

Two local products of Okinawa that are famous are sugar cane and salt.  Okinawans make “black sugar”, which is basically the same as brown sugar made from sugar cane.  Click here to view some “Okinawan sugar” products.  Okinawan brown sugar is believed to decrease the amount of cholesterol and and neutral fat in the blood.  Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Okinawan salt is made from the sea water of Okinawa, which is high in mineral because of the coral reef.  The famous brand names are “Aguni no Shio” (Aguni Salt) and “Nuchimasu”.  “Nuchi” part of “Nuchimasu” means “life” in Okinawan dialect.  So, “Nuchimasu” means “salt of life”.   You can take mineral you need daily by using this salt.

I found this beautiful commercial of a company called “Aoi Umi” (Blue Ocean), which has a factory in Yomitan Village.  You may view a salt making process at this factory.  Click here to view this commercial of the salt made by “Aoi Umi”.

Gala Aoi Umi
Free of Entry
Open All Year Round
Hours
Restaurant: 9:00〜23:00, Shops: 9:00〜20:00, Other facilities: 9:00〜18:00
TEL 098-992-1140

Directions:
Take Highway 58 north.  At the Iramine Junction, turn left onto Highway 6.  You’ll pass Tori Station on your left.  Keep driving towards the north.  You’ll pass LAWSON convenience store on your left and soon you will come to the stop light where the road splits into tow.  Take a left fork.   Follow the sign for the Hotel Alivila.  Gala Aoi Umi is right by the “Murasaki Mura” closer to the water.  (Directions were written by reading a map.  I apologize if the directions are not accurate.)

There is also a factory in Yomitan Village on Highway 58 where you can watch a sugar making process and also experience sugar-making.  You have probably seen big plastic black cows and pigs displayed outside of the factory, which can be seen from the Highway 58 on your left if you drive from the south to the north.   You can view their commercial with filmed process of sugar making on a little screen on this webpage.  Click here.   You will see a small screen on the left side.  This factory is called “Okinawa Kokutou”, which means “Okinawa Black (Brown) Sugar”.  They also sell products in their store.

Okinawa Kokuto Factory
Free of Entry
Hours: 8:00 – 17:30
Appointment by phone call or e-mail
Phone: ０９８－９５８－４００５
E-mail: info@okinawa-kokuto.co.jp

Directions:
Drive north on Highway 58.  Pass the Kadena Circle.  Drive further north.  Pass “Kina” junction.  After passing two stoplights, you’ll see the factory on your left.  (Directions were written by reading a map.  I apologize if the directions are not accurate.)

9 COMMENTS

  1. ps- yes, icecream there is deeee-lish… but be warned.. strawberry tastes like strawberry flavor instead of real berries, and the chocolate chip is just so-so b/c the chocolate in it sucks. coconut, though… that’s the money there. =)

  2. went to this pizza place at the gala today. i would NOT recommend going there. it was terrible. we got there around 430 with hungry kids… yes, 430 is a little early for dinner, but hey, you gotta eat when you gotta eat, right? anyway, we got there to no pizza, no cups, no napkins. we had already paid before we sat down to notice the place was so lacking. i went to the counter to ask the girl where the food was, and she nodded and said something to make me think the food was on its way. it took about 20 minutes for any pizzas to appear, and when they did, they were cracker thin crusts with onions, tuna, and ham on them. not so tasty. then the next pizzas came, which were a sort of taco pizza with olives, green peppers, ground beef, and sauce. some other weird concoctions came out with corn and lots of onions on them. i requested a plain cheese pizza and grabbed some salad to tide us over. the salad was okay. blue cheese looked like it had been sitting there all day long. the curry was more like water with some oil and a few indian spices in it. drinks are all sugar-syrup drinks, no juice or milk for the kids, and “dessert” was mini chocolate cake muffins that were so bad i couldn’t even eat one. ok- that’s enough. me and my 3 and 5 year old were over 18 bucks. Just a warning… =) Oh, but… they did have this yummy pineapple “juice” (pineapple flavored sugar water), if you want to spend Y980 for that.

  3. I was just wondering Bambi’s question, so I did a search and voila, I do so love Okinawa Hai!
    And lucky I am British, now I can go around saying everything is cute, which of course, it is! Toodle Pip!

  4. Staci> Hehe. Is my baby kowai or kawaii?

    Julia> Thanks for teaching us about Chinese superstition. That’s interesting. So, I should say “my baby is butt ugly, dude.” No evil spirits for our baby!

    Bambi> Kelly kindly answered your question! Arigato, Kelly! I’ve never been to Murasaki Mura, but I hear that it’s a great place and it’s one of the places that I would like to go before leaving Okinawa. I have been to Ryukyu Mura. It’s sort of a park/graden where you see Okinawan architectures. You can also see some Okinawan dances at the restaurant/hall. I liked it. It’s a nice place to take your visitors. I don’t remember how much it costs to enter Ryukyu Mura.

    Kelly> You know where to find good food, girl. All-you-can-eat salad/pizza buffet? Oh no, you should’ve not told me about that because I will be there!!! I’m not one of those young ‘uns, but I can tear it down. “Salt” icecream! That’s like “salt” chinsuko! I hear that it’s ‘ummm’ good.

  5. Murasaki Mura and Ryukyu Mura are two different places. I’ve never been to the Ryukyu Mura one, but Murasaki Mura is great! It’s basically a little village where you can make any kind of Okinawan craft you can imagine: glass, bingata, weaving, shisas, laquerware. You can even make your own Okinawan brown (black!) sugar there. I think the entry to Murasaki Mura is about 500 yen or so and the cost to make the crafts varies depending on which one you choose.

    By the by, in the Gala shops there is an all-you-can-eat salad/pizza buffet right on the end. A good place to bring the young ‘uns. Also, try the “salt” icecream at the Blue Seal nextdoor. Yumminess

  7. Kaho, thanks for all of the fantastic information. My head is reeling! I haven’t actually been to Murasaki Mura so it would be fun to go to Gala Aoi Umi and Murasaki Mura on the same day. Okinawa Kokuto Factory sounds like so much fun too. And I finally know what they do in that building behind the cows and pigs now. I’ve always wondered why those were out there. I still don’t get the connection though between pigs, cows, and black or brown sugar!

    Also thanks for the heads up on the differences between kawaii and kowai. I had no idea. Your point about people in African countries saying that a baby is scary reminds me of a Chinese superstition that is similar; you are not supposed to praise or boast about newborn babies for fear that you will attract evil spirits.