CONTRIBUTED BY CALYN PAQUIN
What happens when you love your mother very much? You name your restaurant after her of course! At least in this case, that is the story. The lady at Sobaya Chirugwa told my friend that the name of the owner’s mother is Tsuru which is crane. When he was little, he couldn’t spell it so he would call her Chirugwa (gwa is added to a name for whom you are fond of). Soba is noodle and ya is shop which makes this Chirugwa’s soba shop. I love that. The kanji and Japanese on the sign that I can figure out is little crane house.
Sobaya Exterior
The other things I like besides the good food are the Okinawa feel of the place with the red tile roof, the friendly servers in Okinawan outfits and the interiors with the basket lamps to name a few. There are 3 branches in Okinawa; Naha City Tsubogawa (098 836 3719), Okinawa City Misato (098 938 1811) and the one I went to is right by Hamby Town and Araha beach (098 926 2202). It is a pretty good size restaurant with a big center table as you enter with benches that could sit a big group. There are many tatami seating and tables with booths as well.
Sobaya Inside
Each table is set with menus and a pitcher of water. They will bring you a menu in English when you ask for one. There is a picture of every item/set in the menu. Every set comes with soba noodle soup. The difference in the price is the size and content of the soba noodles. Half set soba comes in a regular noodle bowl with a slice of pork and 2 slices of fish cake and a small set soba comes in a rice bowl with only shreds of fish cake.
Sobaya Food 2
I ordered the vegetable and pork stir-fry with small soba set. My husband ordered the teriyaki pork bowl with half soba set and my daughter ordered the children’s soba. We also ordered a side of pork ribs which melts in your mouth! Needless to say, we left the restaurant very satisfied.
Sobaya Food
Sobaya Kids Set
Hours: 11:30 am – 10:00 pm daily
Payment: Yen and dollars accepted. No credit cards.
Address: そば家鶴小北谷店
〒904-0116 Okinawa-ken, Nakagami-gun, Chatan-chō, Chatan, 1 Chome−11−10
Google Maps Coordinates: 26.306777, 127.761164
Menu: Click for larger.
I loved this place and the people who worked there!! USN 1995-1998.
Just an FYI the map/coordinates are not correct for this restaurant. Follow the directions and you’ll get there though!
Melody, do you happen to have the correct coordinates or address for this restaurant? If you provide them I can make sure they’re correct in the map. Thanks!
Please add the correct street address etc.
そば家鶴小北谷店
〒904-0116 Okinawa-ken, Nakagami-gun, Chatan-chō, Chatan, 1 Chome−11−10
26.306777, 127.761164
Thanks for giving us the correct address, Casey – I’ve added it to the post.
Great place. My daughter and I stopped by for lunch a couple of weeks ago. The bowls are smaller but I was convinced there was a hole under the bottom of the table that just kept refilling my bowl!!! It was never ending but sooooo good. This is the first time we have gone out for a bowl of noodle and I wasn’t able to finish!!!! They do allow smoking, so if you have small children or babies keep that in mind.
Chirugwa moved in 2012 to a new (and interesting) building about 500 meters away. Better check G maps before heading out. Same food, same staff, nicer views.
My family loves this soba house!! We always take our friends there when they get on the island. My daughters love the kids soba sets. They even love it when I take them to a local grocery store and they recognize the juice or the ‘dessert’. I know this restaurant is famous for its soba, but my hubby loves their fried rice as well. This is just an all around great restaurant!!
My husband and I enjoy Sobaya, too! Good food, good price, good location. 🙂