Journeys in photographs and words.
EpisodesMotobu, Okinawa

A TRAVEL ESSAY

Motobu, Okinawa

Slow Living in Okinawa

Island cookingin a traditional Okinawan house

A winter day in Okinawa, with shaved ice and roasted sweet potatoes on the same afternoon.

Film published 67 photos

Read the journey
Eating breakfast on the veranda, the green garden beyond
Eating breakfast on the veranda, the green garden beyondMOTOBU, OKINAWA

ABOUT THIS JOURNEY

Still in Motobu, in the north of Okinawa's main island, I spent a day at a different old house this time. The morning began in an outdoor bath in the garden, followed by Spam rice balls for breakfast. I crossed the Kouri Bridge for zenzai (which in Okinawa means shaved ice), wandered through Nago's municipal market, and ate fried gurukun at a local diner. In the evening I roasted sweet potatoes on a rocket stove, then cooked goya chanpuru and jushi for dinner. A winter day of island time, shared with the cats who live at the house.

A little more about the food and the land

01TRAVEL JOURNAL

Morning in the garden bath

Red petals floated on the water of the bath in the garden. Soaking in an outdoor tub surrounded by trees, I welcomed a morning in northern Okinawa. Like last time, I'm staying in Motobu.

This time I'm at a different old house. Beyond a garden of red blossoms stands a single-story house with a tiled roof. A day of island time, for the cats and for me, was about to begin.

Watch this scene on YouTube0:22
Red petals floating in the garden bath
01Red petals floating in the garden bath
Tiled eaves seen through the garden trees
02Tiled eaves seen through the garden trees
Soaking in an outdoor bath surrounded by greenery
03Soaking in an outdoor bath surrounded by greenery
A tiled-roof farmhouse behind a garden of red blossoms
04A tiled-roof farmhouse behind a garden of red blossoms

02TRAVEL JOURNAL

Breakfast in Yanbaru

The northern part of Okinawa's main island has long been known by the nickname Yanbaru. Written with the characters for mountain and field, the name fits: ridges run one after another, forests spread between them, and much of the original landscape remains.

Breakfast would be built around canned pork, a staple in Okinawan kitchens. I cut it into thick slices and browned both sides in a frying pan. Then I shaped rice from the black pot into balls, set a slice of pork on each, and wrapped them in nori: Spam musubi, Okinawa style.

On the veranda, the cats who live at this house were making their morning rounds. I poured hot water over a cup of aasa seaweed soup, set out a bottle of sanpin jasmine tea, and breakfast was ready.

Watch this scene on YouTube0:31
Opening a can of pork
05Opening a can of pork
Cutting the pork into thick slices
06Cutting the pork into thick slices
The kitchen window seen past an ivy-covered wall
07The kitchen window seen past an ivy-covered wall
Laying the pork slices in a frying pan
08Laying the pork slices in a frying pan
Pork slices browned in the pan
09Pork slices browned in the pan
A black pot of freshly cooked rice
10A black pot of freshly cooked rice
Preparing breakfast at the kitchen window
11Preparing breakfast at the kitchen window
Shaping a rice ball over a black plate
12Shaping a rice ball over a black plate
Spam musubi lined up on a black plate
13Spam musubi lined up on a black plate
Cats on the veranda beside a bowl of floating water plants
14Cats on the veranda beside a bowl of floating water plants
A bottle of sanpin tea and hot water poured into a cup of aasa soup
15A bottle of sanpin tea and hot water poured into a cup of aasa soup

03TRAVEL JOURNAL

A house ringed by fukugi trees

I sat down on the veranda and ate breakfast looking out at the garden. This is a traditional Okinawan house, surrounded by fukugi trees that shield it from typhoons.

In Okinawa, people have long planted fukugi around their homes to protect them from strong winds. A cat ambled across the garden, thick with fruit trees and herbs. Here, you really do live together with nature.

Watch this scene on YouTube0:58
Eating breakfast on the veranda, the green garden beyond
16Eating breakfast on the veranda, the green garden beyond
Eating a rice ball at a small table on the veranda
17Eating a rice ball at a small table on the veranda
The farmhouse veranda with red blossoms, and a cat stepping into the garden
18The farmhouse veranda with red blossoms, and a cat stepping into the garden
The side of the house seen from the garden of fruit trees and herbs
19The side of the house seen from the garden of fruit trees and herbs

04TRAVEL JOURNAL

Over the bridge for zenzai

The weather was fine, warm enough to call it hot, so I crossed the Kouri Bridge to go and eat zenzai. In Okinawa, zenzai means shaved ice.

At the end of a lane leading down to the sea stood a little shop with banners out front, and a heaping bowl of shaved ice arrived. On top sat sweetly simmered kintoki beans and rice-flour dumplings, with the deep scent of brown sugar. I ate it spoonful by spoonful, looking past the palm fronds at the blue sea and the bridge.

Watch this scene on YouTube1:25
The Kouri Bridge stretching across the blue sea
20The Kouri Bridge stretching across the blue sea
A lane leading to the sea and a seaside stand with banners
21A lane leading to the sea and a seaside stand with banners
A spoon going into shaved ice topped with kintoki beans and brown sugar
22A spoon going into shaved ice topped with kintoki beans and brown sugar
A heaping Okinawan zenzai topped with kintoki beans and dumplings
23A heaping Okinawan zenzai topped with kintoki beans and dumplings
The sea and a distant bridge seen through palm fronds
24The sea and a distant bridge seen through palm fronds
Eating zenzai with the sea behind
25Eating zenzai with the sea behind

05TRAVEL JOURNAL

Nago's municipal market, and a cat

I stopped by the Nago Municipal Market in the center of town. Past the stone wall topped with shisa lion-dogs and the red sign, the market had a retro, easygoing air: bunches of bananas, vegetables and fruit, posters on the walls.

I met a cat stretched out in the sun. Many cats in Okinawa are friendly, probably because the islanders and the climate are warm. I left the market through an arcade with stained-glass windows.

Watch this scene on YouTube1:44
A stone wall topped with shisa and the red sign of the municipal market
26A stone wall topped with shisa and the red sign of the municipal market
Entering the market past a wall of patterned concrete blocks
27Entering the market past a wall of patterned concrete blocks
Peering into a shop through the glass door
28Peering into a shop through the glass door
A market stall with bunches of bananas and posters
29A market stall with bunches of bananas and posters
A greengrocer's stall in the market
30A greengrocer's stall in the market
A tabby cat stretched out in the sun
31A tabby cat stretched out in the sun
A small shop at the end of a market alley
32A small shop at the end of a market alley
An arcade walkway with stained-glass windows
33An arcade walkway with stained-glass windows

06TRAVEL JOURNAL

Fried gurukun at a local diner

For lunch I went to a local diner for a typically Okinawan set meal. First, umibudo sea grapes, with a bottle of Orion to pour alongside. I picked the crunchy little beads out of the bowl with my chopsticks.

From the chalkboard menu I chose fried gurukun, Okinawa's prefectural fish. Sashimi on a bed of ice and mozuku seaweed tempura came with it. The gurukun was fried crisp and delicious from head to tail, and the mozuku tempura was superb too.

Watch this scene on YouTube2:15
A diner entrance with shisa on the roof and a noren curtain
34A diner entrance with shisa on the roof and a noren curtain
A bowl of sea grapes and a glass poured from a bottle of Orion
35A bowl of sea grapes and a glass poured from a bottle of Orion
Picking up sea grapes with chopsticks
36Picking up sea grapes with chopsticks
Mozuku seaweed tempura on a plate
37Mozuku seaweed tempura on a plate
Tuna sashimi and wasabi on a bed of ice
38Tuna sashimi and wasabi on a bed of ice
Chalkboard menus on the wall
39Chalkboard menus on the wall
Fried gurukun on the set-meal plate
40Fried gurukun on the set-meal plate

07TRAVEL JOURNAL

Roasted sweet potatoes, winter in Okinawa

Even in Okinawa, the temperature drops in the evening. I went out to the garden and lit the rocket stove, stacked with driftwood.

I lined an iron pot with stones, laid sweet potatoes on top, and set them to roast. While I waited, I brewed coffee through a cloth filter. Then, with a steaming sweet potato in my hands, I realized I had eaten shaved ice and stone-roasted sweet potato on the same day. Winter in Okinawa grants you wishes you didn't know you had.

Watch this scene on YouTube2:52
Red hibiscus and a bare tree outside the window
41Red hibiscus and a bare tree outside the window
A rocket stove stacked with driftwood
42A rocket stove stacked with driftwood
Lighting the rocket stove with a torch
43Lighting the rocket stove with a torch
Laying sweet potatoes on stones in an iron pot
44Laying sweet potatoes on stones in an iron pot
Brewing coffee through a cloth filter
45Brewing coffee through a cloth filter
Holding a roasted sweet potato at the table by the window
46Holding a roasted sweet potato at the table by the window

08TRAVEL JOURNAL

Island time, for the cats and me

As the sun sank, the house grew quiet. Beyond the latticed windows the garden swayed, and photographs and pictures hung on the walls. On a shelf stood books about the creatures of these seas.

Out on the veranda, a white cat was absorbed in grooming itself. Island time, for the cats and for me.

Watch this scene on YouTube3:33
Looking out through latticed windows at the greenery
47Looking out through latticed windows at the greenery
A wall hung with photographs and pictures, and a window onto the garden
48A wall hung with photographs and pictures, and a window onto the garden
Blue mesh baskets hanging outside the window
49Blue mesh baskets hanging outside the window
A white cat grooming itself on the wooden veranda
50A white cat grooming itself on the wooden veranda
A shelf of books and posters about sea creatures
51A shelf of books and posters about sea creatures

09TRAVEL JOURNAL

Goya chanpuru

Dinner would be Okinawan home cooking, and that has to mean goya chanpuru. I sliced the bitter melon thin, tore the firm island tofu into chunks by hand, and browned it in an iron pan.

Chanpuru is a stir-fry of seared island tofu and vegetables, originally a home dish made from cheap, easy-to-find ingredients. I added pork, then folded in beaten egg. I'm sure every family has its own delicious version.

Watch this scene on YouTube3:52
Slicing bitter melon thin
52Slicing bitter melon thin
A black clay pot on the gas stove
53A black clay pot on the gas stove
Standing in the kitchen at night
54Standing in the kitchen at night
Hand-torn island tofu going into the pan
55Hand-torn island tofu going into the pan
An iron frying pan over the flame
56An iron frying pan over the flame
A lit window and a figure in the kitchen, seen from the dark
57A lit window and a figure in the kitchen, seen from the dark
Chanpuru of bitter melon, pork and egg
58Chanpuru of bitter melon, pork and egg
Stirring the chanpuru with cooking chopsticks
59Stirring the chanpuru with cooking chopsticks

10TRAVEL JOURNAL

Jushi in a clay pot

In the clay pot, another Okinawan flavor had finished cooking: jushi, rice simmered with Japanese dashi and the richness of pork. The word means seasoned rice in Okinawan; this time I cooked it with carrot and shiitake. It's a classic for seasonal festivals and celebrations.

Watch this scene on YouTube4:20
Jushi freshly cooked in the clay pot
60Jushi freshly cooked in the clay pot
A rice paddle going into jushi with carrot and shiitake
61A rice paddle going into jushi with carrot and shiitake
Loosening the jushi from the bottom of the pot
62Loosening the jushi from the bottom of the pot

11TRAVEL JOURNAL

Until we meet again

On the lamplit table I set out the chanpuru topped with bonito flakes, the jushi, and a bowl of sea grapes. Okinawan cooking is full of the wisdom of many cultures and many people. Even on my first visit, the air of Okinawa felt somehow nostalgic.

Next time I'd like to come in summer. To the two cats huddled by the window: anshee, mata yaatai. Until we meet again.

Watch this scene on YouTube4:33
The lamplit table seen through the window from the dark garden
63The lamplit table seen through the window from the dark garden
Bringing chanpuru topped with bonito flakes to the table
64Bringing chanpuru topped with bonito flakes to the table
Sea grapes going into a small bowl
65Sea grapes going into a small bowl
Sitting down to a table of Okinawan dishes under the lamp
66Sitting down to a table of Okinawan dishes under the lamp
Two cats huddled together by the window
67Two cats huddled together by the window

THE JOURNEY IN FILM

The wind. The sounds of a kitchen.

Spend a little more time inside the journey, on film.

Watch the video5 min

THE BORROWER’S NOTES

The Borrower's Notes: Motobu, Okinawa

Places we stopped, dishes we made, and stories of the land. A few things to keep from the journey.

01Where I ate and shopped

  • Kinokawa Shokudo

    Kinokawa Shokudo

    603 Kenken, Motobu, Kunigami District, Okinawa

    A diner in a quiet residential area a short way in from the coast road. The chalkboard lists fried gurukun, mozuku tempura, sea grapes, goya chanpuru set meals and more. This time I had fried gurukun with sashimi, mozuku tempura and sea grapes.

    Sources: retty.me

  • A seaside zenzai stand

    A seaside zenzai stand

    A small stand with banners out front, beside a lane leading down to the sea on the far side of the Kouri Bridge. It serves heaping shaved ice topped with sweetly simmered kintoki beans and rice dumplings: Okinawan zenzai.

  • Nago Municipal Market

    Nago Municipal Market

    1-4-11 Gusuku, Nago, Okinawa

    A market in the center of Nago, dating back to the Taisho era; the current building was completed in 2010. Fresh meat, fish and vegetable shops fill the first floor, with sundries, souvenir shops and eateries on the second.

    Sources: ryukyushimpo.jp tabelog.com

02What I cooked

  • Spam musubi

    Spam musubi

    In postwar Okinawa, when meat was hard to come by, canned pork became a widely used source of protein that kept well and was easy to prepare, and serving it with fried or rolled egg took root in homes. Pork and egg, born of that postwar ingenuity, is now a familiar home taste, and the rice ball made from it is a classic too. This time I set grilled pork on rice and wrapped it in nori.

    IngredientsCooked rice, Canned pork (Spam), Nori seaweed

    1. Cut the pork into thick slices and brown both sides in a frying pan
    2. Shape the rice into balls and set a slice of pork on each
    3. Wrap with nori

    Sources: ryukyushimpo.jp

  • Goya chanpuru

    Goya chanpuru

    Chanpuru, Okinawa's everyday stir-fry, combines seared island tofu with seasonal vegetables, and goya chanpuru is its best-known form. Frying the bitter melon with tofu and egg softens its bitterness, and Okinawa's firm tofu holds up well in the pan. Long valued as a dish to ward off summer fatigue, it is now served year-round in homes and diners, since improved varieties of goya are available in every season. Canned pork is sometimes used in place of fresh pork.

    IngredientsBitter melon (goya), Island tofu, Pork, Egg, Bonito flakes

    1. Slice the bitter melon thin
    2. Tear the island tofu by hand and brown it in an iron pan
    3. Stir-fry the bitter melon and pork, then fold in beaten egg
    4. Plate it and top with bonito flakes

    Sources: maff.go.jp

  • Jushi

    Jushi

    Jushi is the Okinawan word for seasoned rice. The firmer kind, kufa jushi, is rice cooked in pork stock with pork belly, carrot, rehydrated dried shiitake and kamaboko; the pork gives it a glossy finish. Once an essential dish for festivals and celebrations, it has variations such as unkee jushi with leaf ginger for the Obon welcoming of ancestors and tunjii jushi with taro for the winter solstice. Today it is everyday home cooking as well.

    IngredientsRice, Pork, Carrot, Shiitake mushrooms, Japanese dashi

    1. Put the rice, pork and vegetables in a clay pot with dashi and cook
    2. When done, loosen the rice from the bottom of the pot

    Sources: maff.go.jp

  • Stone-roasted sweet potatoes

    Stone-roasted sweet potatoes

    The sweet potato is said to have reached the Ryukyu Kingdom in 1605, when Noguni Sokan brought seedlings back from Fujian in China. Gima Shinjo spread its cultivation across the islands, and from there it traveled through Satsuma to the rest of Japan. On a winter evening, I ate sweet potatoes roasted over the rocket stove.

    IngredientsSweet potatoes, Stones

    1. Stack driftwood in the rocket stove and light it
    2. Line an iron pot with stones, lay the sweet potatoes on top and roast

    Sources: ryukyushimpo.jp

03About the area

  • Yanbaru

    Yanbaru

    Yanbaru, written with the characters for mountain and field, means a region of connected mountains and spreading forest, and refers to the north of Okinawa Island, covered in subtropical evergreen forest. More than 80 percent of the land is forested, and it is home to endemic species such as the Okinawa rail, Okinawa woodpecker and Ryukyu long-furred rat.

    Sources: env.go.jp

  • Fukugi windbreaks

    Fukugi windbreaks

    In Okinawa, fukugi trees have long been planted around homes to shield them from typhoon winds. The fukugi-lined lanes of Bise, in Motobu, are said to date back more than 250 years, to the Ryukyu Kingdom era, when they were planted as windbreaks for the houses.

    Sources: mlit.go.jp

  • Kouri Bridge

    Kouri Bridge

    Kouri, Nakijin, Kunigami District, Okinawa

    A 1,960-meter bridge linking Yagaji Island in Nago with Kouri Island in Nakijin. It opened in 2005 and is free to cross. Before the bridge, the only way to Kouri was by ferry from Motobu.

    Sources: gltjp.com

  • Okinawan zenzai

    Okinawan zenzai

    In Okinawa, zenzai is a cold dessert: shaved ice piled over sweetly simmered kintoki beans. Its roots are traced to amagashi, an Okinawan sweet of mung beans and barley simmered and served cool. After the war, mung beans gave way to kintoki beans because of supply conditions, but the method of simmering the beans soft in brown sugar was kept, and topping them with rice dumplings or shaved ice became the norm.

    Sources: macaro-ni.jp

  • Gurukun, the prefectural fish

    Gurukun, the prefectural fish

    Gurukun is the Okinawan name for the double-lined fusilier, called takasago in standard Japanese. It was named Okinawa's prefectural fish on May 15, 1972. The fish is caught with large drive-in nets known as agiyaa, and was once used as bait for pole-and-line skipjack fishing. On the table it turns a vivid red, and deep-fried it can be eaten from head to tail.

    Sources: pref.okinawa.jp

  • Sea grapes and mozuku

    Sea grapes and mozuku

    Sea grapes (umibudo) rank third among Okinawa's aquaculture products in both volume and value. Mozuku seaweed has been farmed in the prefecture at 13,000 to 21,000 tons a year since fiscal 1999, and more than 95 percent of Japan's mozuku comes from Okinawa. Both are grown in the coral-reef waters around the islands.

    Sources: pref.okinawa.jp pref.okinawa.jp

  • An old house inn with resident cats

    An old house inn with resident cats

    This time I borrowed a traditionally built old house with an outdoor bath in the garden. Cats have made their home among the fruit trees and herbs, and a rocket stove and iron pot made it possible to roast sweet potatoes outdoors.

See notes from other journeys

PHOTO ALBUMPhoto album67Open all photographsClose the photo album

Select a photograph to explore the journey one frame at a time.

01Morning in the garden bath

Red petals floating in the garden bath01Tiled eaves seen through the garden trees02Soaking in an outdoor bath surrounded by greenery03A tiled-roof farmhouse behind a garden of red blossoms04

02Breakfast in Yanbaru

Opening a can of pork05Cutting the pork into thick slices06The kitchen window seen past an ivy-covered wall07Laying the pork slices in a frying pan08Pork slices browned in the pan09A black pot of freshly cooked rice10Preparing breakfast at the kitchen window11Shaping a rice ball over a black plate12Spam musubi lined up on a black plate13Cats on the veranda beside a bowl of floating water plants14A bottle of sanpin tea and hot water poured into a cup of aasa soup15

03A house ringed by fukugi trees

Eating breakfast on the veranda, the green garden beyond16Eating a rice ball at a small table on the veranda17The farmhouse veranda with red blossoms, and a cat stepping into the garden18The side of the house seen from the garden of fruit trees and herbs19

04Over the bridge for zenzai

The Kouri Bridge stretching across the blue sea20A lane leading to the sea and a seaside stand with banners21A spoon going into shaved ice topped with kintoki beans and brown sugar22A heaping Okinawan zenzai topped with kintoki beans and dumplings23The sea and a distant bridge seen through palm fronds24Eating zenzai with the sea behind25

05Nago's municipal market, and a cat

A stone wall topped with shisa and the red sign of the municipal market26Entering the market past a wall of patterned concrete blocks27Peering into a shop through the glass door28A market stall with bunches of bananas and posters29A greengrocer's stall in the market30A tabby cat stretched out in the sun31A small shop at the end of a market alley32An arcade walkway with stained-glass windows33

06Fried gurukun at a local diner

A diner entrance with shisa on the roof and a noren curtain34A bowl of sea grapes and a glass poured from a bottle of Orion35Picking up sea grapes with chopsticks36Mozuku seaweed tempura on a plate37Tuna sashimi and wasabi on a bed of ice38Chalkboard menus on the wall39Fried gurukun on the set-meal plate40

07Roasted sweet potatoes, winter in Okinawa

Red hibiscus and a bare tree outside the window41A rocket stove stacked with driftwood42Lighting the rocket stove with a torch43Laying sweet potatoes on stones in an iron pot44Brewing coffee through a cloth filter45Holding a roasted sweet potato at the table by the window46

08Island time, for the cats and me

Looking out through latticed windows at the greenery47A wall hung with photographs and pictures, and a window onto the garden48Blue mesh baskets hanging outside the window49A white cat grooming itself on the wooden veranda50A shelf of books and posters about sea creatures51

09Goya chanpuru

Slicing bitter melon thin52A black clay pot on the gas stove53Standing in the kitchen at night54Hand-torn island tofu going into the pan55An iron frying pan over the flame56A lit window and a figure in the kitchen, seen from the dark57Chanpuru of bitter melon, pork and egg58Stirring the chanpuru with cooking chopsticks59

10Jushi in a clay pot

Jushi freshly cooked in the clay pot60A rice paddle going into jushi with carrot and shiitake61Loosening the jushi from the bottom of the pot62

11Until we meet again

The lamplit table seen through the window from the dark garden63Bringing chanpuru topped with bonito flakes to the table64Sea grapes going into a small bowl65Sitting down to a table of Okinawan dishes under the lamp66Two cats huddled together by the window67

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