Yashinokihiroba (やしの木広場)

Cheap and quick restaurant serving Okinawa food for 300 yen

Yashinokihiroba (やしの木広場) is a pint-sized restaurant about 100 m down the Heiwa Dori shopping arcade off of Naha’s Kokusai Dori. It’s set in a little open-front basement alcove and is spotted by the hilarious sign immediately above for what looks like a “boys kabakura” bar called “Milky Milky”. We rocked up at Yashinokihiroba (やしの木広場) attracted by signs that read, “Delicious for 300 yen”, hungry to try out some of the Okinawan classic “umi budou” or “ocean grapes”. We found them here, for 300 yen of course. Also on the menu at Yashinokihiroba is Okinawa soba. Compared to other regional soba in Japan, Okinawa soba noodles are thicker and seem closer to the udon. The broth used in Okinawa soba resembles that typically used in ramen. While I can’t confirm it, everything on the menu at Yashinokihiroba is would appear to be 300 yen. From the chunks of tuna steak through to the cocktails and beer, and yes, the Okinawa soba. Dishes are sizeable for the price but you’ll need to order more than one to fill up. Still, at these prices this is a cheap restaurant option for those who find themselves hungry around the Kokusai Dori area of Naha. While not being an expert, the dishes tasted good, although the “umi budou” while interesting in appearance are not something that excited too much in terms of taste. Still, when in Okinawa … Inside, Yashinokihiroba (やしの木広場) has only one or two tables in a very bright, if Spartan, setting. The whitewash walls are dotted with laminated pictures of menu items and a TV sat above the water dispenser (help yourself) was scrolling some local programming at our time of visiting, lateish on a Monday night. At this time other shops and services on Heiwa Dori were preparing to close for the day. There was one other diner in at the time, although there wouldn’t have been room for many more. Service at Yashinokihiroba was fast and friendly and the place looks clean and healthy. It’s not a place to come a settled in for a long period but looks like a great and cheap restaurant option for some quick and easy Okinawan food. It’s a bit tricky to find through internet searches so this is something that would be better approached by using Japanese. I can’t recall if there was an English-language menu available at Yashinokihiroba but there are so many pictures around the place that such a menu isn’t really needed anyway. This is classic “point and order” territory.