Ryukyuan Cuisine: From Royal Court to Everyday Okinawan Dining

Ryukyu cuisine is Okinawa's distinctive food culture, born from the fusion of the former Ryukyu Kingdom's court cuisine and the home cooking of common people. The ideas of "medicine and food share the same source" and "kusuimun (things that become medicine)" are deeply rooted, and it is packed with wisdom that uses ingredients without waste and supports health and longevity. Distinctive ingredients nurtured by the subtropical climate combine with cooking methods refined through exchange with China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, and many colorful, deeply flavorful dishes still adorn Okinawa's tables today.

The Fusion of Court Cuisine and Common Cuisine

In the Ryukyu Kingdom era, refined court cuisine developed at the royal government in Shuri to entertain envoys from China. Meanwhile, in the lives of common people, home cooking that ingeniously used up limited ingredients was cultivated. These two streams merged over time and formed today's Ryukyu cuisine. A food culture that uses pork without waste from head to foot, the custom of frequently using kombu, and the wisdom of incorporating medicinal herbs and island vegetables, the food philosophy unique to Okinawa that values health and longevity lives on throughout.

Representative Dishes and Island Ingredients

A dish representative of Ryukyu cuisine is "rafute," pork belly simmered slowly. It is characterized by a melting texture and deep richness, and is said to derive from court cuisine. "Champuru," in which vegetables, tofu, and eggs are stir-fried together, is a representative home dish using island vegetables such as goya. Besides this, there is an abundance of dishes making use of ingredients unique to Okinawa, such as "Okinawa soba" with a pork-based broth, sweets using glutinous rice, island tofu, and sea grapes. Vegetables grown bathed in the subtropical sun and the bounty of the surrounding sea support the rich flavor of Ryukyu cuisine.

Recommended Occasions to Savor It

Ryukyu cuisine can be enjoyed year-round and is a food culture you will definitely want to taste when visiting Okinawa. You can casually savor authentic Ryukyu cuisine at Naha's Kokusai-dori and around the markets, and at eateries and local-cuisine restaurants throughout the region. Around Shuri Castle, some restaurants serve dignified dishes descended from court cuisine. To enjoy homestyle flavors choose a local eatery, and to savor a special atmosphere choose a specialty restaurant, selecting according to your purpose.

Practical Travel Notes

• Where to eat: Around Naha's Kokusai-dori and the Daiichi Makishi Public Market there are many eateries and local-cuisine restaurants where you can casually savor Okinawa soba, champuru, and more. At the public market, some shops will cook fresh fish and island ingredients you select.
• Savoring court cuisine: Authentic Ryukyu court cuisine is often served as a course meal, and some specialty restaurants require reservations. If you want to savor it slowly, an advance reservation is reassuring.
• Island tofu and sea grapes: Some shops sell freshly made island tofu by weight, and fresh sea grapes are popular. Some shops handle takeout and shipping.
• Pairing with drinks: Pairing with local drinks such as awamori and Orion beer brings out the flavor of the dishes even more.

A Word of Advice

Popular eateries and local-cuisine restaurants can be crowded at lunchtime and during the tourist season. Visiting at off-peak times, or making an advance reservation at specialty restaurants, goes more smoothly. Because seasonal ingredients such as goya, island vegetables, and pork dishes change by season and region, it is also fun to ask locals for recommendations. Through the deeply flavorful cuisine nurtured by the island of longevity, come into contact with Okinawa's history and climate.

📚 Sources

This article draws on Okinawa Prefecture and Naha City guidance on tourism and food culture, materials on the origins of Ryukyu cuisine in court and home cooking, and guidance on eateries and local-cuisine restaurants around Kokusai Dori and the Daiichi Makishi Public Market. Descriptions of rafute, chanpuru, Okinawa soba, island tofu, and umibudo follow local guidance and general explanations of the food culture. Shop hours and whether reservations are needed vary by shop, so please confirm details on each shop official sources before visiting.

Visitor Checklist

• Where to eat: Around Kokusai Dori and the Daiichi Makishi Public Market in Naha there are many eateries and local-cuisine restaurants serving dishes such as Okinawa soba and chanpuru.
• Booking court cuisine: Full Ryukyu court cuisine is often served as a course, and some specialty restaurants require reservations, so book ahead to dine at leisure.
• Shopping and takeaway: Some shops sell freshly made island tofu by weight, and some handle takeaway or shipping of umibudo.
• Avoiding crowds: Popular eateries and local-cuisine restaurants get busy at lunchtime and in tourist seasons, so consider visiting at off-peak times.
• How to enjoy: Pairing dishes with local drinks such as awamori or Orion beer brings out the flavors even more.

Practical Information for Your Visit

• Rules on the name Okinawa soba: Under the Fair Competition Code concerning the Labeling of Fresh Noodles, drawn up by the National Fresh Noodle Fair Trade Council, Okinawa soba falls under the classification of Chinese-style noodles (chuka-men), and it is stipulated that the product name may be given as Okinawa soba instead.
• Criteria for calling it honba (authentic) Okinawa soba: The appended table to the enforcement regulations of the same code sets out the following criteria for Okinawa soba when terms such as meisan, tokusan, honba or meibutsu (local specialty, authentic, famous product) are used: (1) it must be made within Okinawa Prefecture; (2) it must be hand-made or hand-made style; (3) the wheat flour used must contain at least 11% protein and no more than 0.42% ash; (4) the water added must be at least 34% and no more than 36% of the weight of the flour; (5) the kansui alkaline solution must be 2 to 4 degrees Baume and the salt solution 5 to 10 degrees Baume; (6) the resting time must be within 30 minutes; (7) the noodles must be 1.5 to 1.7 mm thick and cut with thin-blade cutting rolls of No. 10 to No. 12; (8) the cut noodle strands must always be hand-rubbed before boiling; (9) the boiling water must have a pH of 8 to 9; (10) the boiling time must be within about 2 minutes, with the starch sufficiently gelatinized; and (11) the noodles must be treated with oil at the finishing stage.
• Ryukyu Cuisine Tradition Bearers (a certification system of Okinawa Prefecture): This is a system run by Okinawa Prefecture, with the first cohort certified in fiscal 2017 (Heisei 29). Certification requires a cook's or dietitian's qualification, at least 10 years of practical experience, a recommendation from the head of one's workplace or from an organization (the self-employed may recommend themselves), and completion of every session of the prefecture's training course for successors of Ryukyu cuisine. Once certified, holders must submit an activity report each year. There is also a higher grade, the Ryukyu Cuisine Tradition Bearer Master (sosho), for those with broad knowledge and advanced skills who train and guide other bearers.
• Restaurants where you can taste Ryukyu cuisine (a certification system of Okinawa Prefecture): The official website of Okinawa Prefecture publishes a list of certified restaurants where Ryukyu cuisine can be tasted. It is a useful reference when choosing where to eat.
• Daiichi Makishi Public Market (Naha City) / address: 2-10-1 Matsuo, Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture.
• Daiichi Makishi Public Market / opening hours: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (varies by shop). The last order for cooking mochiage ingredients bought on the first floor (meat and fresh fish) is 7:45 p.m., and the last order at the second-floor eateries is 8:00 p.m.
• Daiichi Makishi Public Market / closing days: The 4th Sunday of every month (except December), New Year (January 1-3), and the old-calendar Obon (the 16th and 17th days of the seventh lunar month). Individual shops, however, take their days off at different times.
• Daiichi Makishi Public Market / parking: The Naha City official website states that there is none.
• Daiichi Makishi Public Market / access and size: A 9-minute walk from Makishi Station on the Yui Rail, or a 10-minute walk from Miebashi Station. There are 75 shops on the first floor. Barrier-free toilets, wheelchairs for loan and a nursing room are available.
• Daiichi Makishi Public Market / history: Opened in December 1950 (Showa 25), rebuilt in October 1972 (Showa 47), and newly constructed in March 2023 (Reiwa 5), which is the present building.

Note: On the market's closing days, the Naha City official website gives the 4th Sunday of every month (except December), New Year from January 1 to 3, and the old-calendar Obon (the 16th and 17th days of the seventh lunar month), while the market's own website gives the 4th Sunday of every month (open every day in December) plus New Year, Lunar New Year and the old-calendar Obon (varying by shop); the two accounts do not agree, for instance on how Lunar New Year is treated. Please check the latest information before you set out. Note: Course prices at restaurants serving Ryukyu court cuisine, and the current cumulative number of certified Ryukyu Cuisine Tradition Bearers, are not published officially. (Sources: National Fresh Noodle Fair Trade Council, Fair Competition Code concerning the Labeling of Fresh Noodles and its enforcement regulations; Okinawa Prefecture official website; Naha City official website; Naha City Daiichi Makishi Public Market official website)