CONTRIBUTED BY JEANINECZUBIK
If your day doesn’t get started without a cup of joe, or you just love the smell, take a stroll in Yamachu-Honpo in Chatan.
Roasted here in Okinawa, Yamachu-Honpo’s brews three varieties of coffee: Original Blend for both hot and iced coffee, and Gettou Flavor. Gettou, a native plant to Okinawa, is part of the ginger family and has a variety of uses in creating sticky rice, sweets, paper products, essential oils and soaps. To create the Gettou coffee, Yamachu-Honpo roasts the coffee beans with mochi and chopped gettou leaves. As a coffee lover who typically needs a little milk and sweetener, this coffee required neither – it was smooth and delicious.
Beyond the coffee, Yamachu-Honpo carries a wide range of other Okinawan-made items: awamori (ask about the special 10th Anniversary bottle), chinsukou (cookies), sauces and spices, glass, soap, and tea.
With just a few chairs and a table inside, Yamachu-Honpo won’t replace your usual cafe hangout. It will, however, provide you a perfect cup of coffee, and perhaps a unique Okinawan souvenir or gift.
Yamachu-Honpo
Hours: 1100 – 2000 daily
Phone: 098-936-8430
Website: www.yamachu-honpo.com (Japanese only)
Address: First floor, Depot Island Bldg. “E” 9-1 Mihama, Chatan Town
GPS Coordinates: 26.3157639, 127.7547012
Directions: Mihama Chatan just south of American Village on the back road parallel to Highway 58. From 58, turn west at the Jagaru intersection between B.C. Motors and Toyota dealership. [From Camp Foster, this is the first light north of the intersection of 58 and 130.
From Kadena/Lester, this is the first light south of Starbucks.] After one block when the road Ts, turn right and immediately left into the parking lot. Yamachu-Honpo shares a structure with a soba shop. On the back road from Araha Beach, this light is one light north of the old ETWS building.
Same question, does anyone know where yamachu-honpo is now located? Thanks!
I tried to visit, but it looked like they might be moving. Does anyone know if they moved, and if so where they went? Thank you!
hi! does anyone know the name of the soba shop beside it?? 🙂 thanks.
Ahh….we should have gone here Monday! I’m looking for coffee to give to my aunt who’s as bad of a coffee drinker as I am. Hmm…maybe I’ll have time to go before we leave? Btw, don’t pay attention to negative people with bad grammar =)
Kate, do you have something useful to contribute, or do you just like to make useless posts to establish your “superiority” on the internet?
Why don’t you make useful suggestions on what you’d like to see?
I was so pleased to wake up to this post since my coffee wasn’t done yet.
I also like that it is right up the road. I will check that out during the school break.
yum