Photos courtesy of Pizza Café Kajinho ()
Motobu Town is a home for some of Okinawa’s most popular attractions, such as Ocean Expo Park, Emerald Beach, Nakijin Castle and a beautiful path lined with “fukugi” (garcinia) trees in Bise. The town is also known as one of the earliest cherry blossom viewing spots in Japan.
For these attractions alone, some 3 million tourists visit annually, according to Motobu Town Tourism Association. But, if you’ve not yet been to Motobu’s popular pizza café, you have one more very good reason to visit.
Pizza Café Kajinho – more famously known to Americans as “Pizza in the Sky” – is located on the top of cliff where you can look down Motobu Town with an ocean-view backdrop sporting Iejima, Sesokojima, and Minnajima Islands.
“Since there are many benches and chairs furnished in our garden, you can enjoy the view while having meal,” says owner Kensaku Kuba.
The most popular menu at the café is its original homemade pizza. “We use famous spring water from Okuni Trail for our pizza and coffee,” Kuba says. “The sweet soft water makes our pizza very tasty with soft yet chewy texture. We have used this traditional method ever since we opened over two decades ago.”
There are two sizes of pizza – small for 1,300 yen ($8.83), which feeds two people, and large for 2,600 yen for four people. The café’s other popular menu item is acerola juice for 500 yen, which is made from wild fruit.
“Although we add just a little syrup to sweeten it, you can enjoy the real taste of acerola,” says Kuba. “Acerola may be considered a little too sour and bitter to drink without help of many sugar, you will be surprised how sweet and tasty our local acerola is when you sample our juice; it goes perfectly with the rich flavor of our pizza.”
Café Kajino may offer a great outdoor view, but having your meal inside of the café is also fun. Since the shop is housed in old-fashioned Ryukyuan-style house – complete with tile roof, you can also get a taste of how ancient Okinawans once lived.
This café is very popular, and always crowded from morning to 3 p.m. “We are especially busy during the cherry blossoms festival between middle of January and first week of February every year,” Kuba says.
So, if you want to stay there longer for fully enjoying the view and food, you may have better avoid the busiest season and hours, and visit there in the evening.
“You can enjoy a beautiful sunset while sampling our food and drink in the quieter garden,” Kuba said.
Pizza Café Kajinho Location: 1153-2 Yamazato, Motobu-cho, Kunigami-Gun, Okinawa Pref. Hours: Thu – Mon, 11:30 a.m. – 7 p.m. URL TEL: 0980-47-5537
* Accept Japanese Yen only
