CONTRIBUTED BY CLAIRE BRAY-COLLINS

oHacorte Sign

Tart? Tarte?

I’ll admit, I’ve been called both in the past…The former, a spunky, stylish gal with a razor-sharp wit. The latter, a lovely sweet treat encased by melt-in-your-mouth pastry perfected by French pastry chefs worldwide. Confession? Frankly, I’d still respond to either one.

But I digress… Who doesn’t love a good tarte!?!

oHacorte Tarte 1

Breathe easy, Oki friends. Yes, we are here on this little rock for some time and always looking for food, fun, and adventure; but no need to sell a kidney for tickets to France if you’re hankering for just such a delectable treat on island…oHacorte is here for ME…Err, YOU!

Tucked away at the end of one of Minatogawa’s sweet little boutique and café lined streets, oHacorte is a wee tarte lovers haven of love. The shop itself is quite small, there is a small room with a few tables inside, as well as seating outside…ish…They’ve converted the old garden “shack” into semi-enclosed seating areas, banked along a little yard & garden. TOOOO Cute!

The shop sells everything from kitchen utensils, to gift boxes of locally made goods, to organic, hand-woven scarves, paper products, pottery jewelry, and yes…TARTES.  (I’ve since heard there is a “main shop” in Naha, but I visited the relatively new café in Minatogawa, Urasoe. It is (to channel my Mother-in-law and/or my Grandma) “Absolutely Darling”!!)

The prices, range from 300JPY to about 600JPY per tarte, but they are (again quoting the MIL), FABULOUS. Fresh. Delicate. Handmade. Melty sweetness. In a word? Bliss.  They also make heavenly little shortbread cookies for sale individually (105JPY), or packaged as gifts.

I highly recommend this shop for, well… ANY occasion! New friend? New baby? Guests in town? Date day with your sweetie? Stubbed your toe and need some caramelized banana & brown sugar custard therapy? Bored in Urasoe? Stuck in traffic on the way home from the airport? Wedding? Shower (of any kind — with two babies, I celebrate having taken one some days!)? Celebrating a random non-occasion Tuesday? I could go on….

In any case, stop in, have a tarte. Maybe some tea. Give them a try. It’s just plain lovely. On that note, I welcome any and all comments, even the negative; however, I insist: If you are displeased with oHacorte, do consider posing a brilliant argument, onegaishimasu… This Tart might be difficult to sway 😉

Directions:  oHacorte is located in Minatogawa village (there is a post on Oki Hai about this sweet little community of shops and cafes), in Urasoe. Heading south on 58, past Foster, past the turn for 153 and 34 into Urasoe “proper” the turn into Minatogawa is 0.6 km past the giant “Faroah” pachinko intersection. The turn is at a 3-way intersection, Kanehide is on the left, turn right onto the side street AT this light (there is a blue sign directly overhead that says “Nishihara/Nakama”). Follow the windy road along until it ends at…Minatogawa! You can park along that “main” road (where the signs are) if there is space, which there typically is, just keep an eye out for signs/markings. oHacorte is #18 on Florida Street (to the left). They DO have limited parking in front of the shop and a few spots out back as they are at the end of the road.

Hours: 11:30-19:00 daily

Phone: 098-875-2129

Payment: Yen and Credit cards only

Website: chewichoak.ti-da.net/ or www.ohacorte.com

**FYI: There is another oHaco shop in downtown Naha, and having looked at these sites, I noticed there are slight variations in the hours. The hours I’ve listed above are for the Minatogawa shop (for certain).

8 COMMENTS

  1. Tried this place recently, absolutely love it! Went near closing time yet everything was still super fresh. They have a small place, but so many tartes and other fun things for sale. The women who work here are wonderful. They speak excellent English, and they are so sweet and don’t mind you taking your time to browse. The directions above are not very good. Had a hard time finding it at first, but thank God for the map app on the iPhone. I recommend using yours! And I definitely recommend you trying this awesome little bakery.