If you have traveled to Okinawa, you may have stumbled across a dish fit for kings. It’s true, rafute, or braised pork belly, was served as a staple to Okinawan royalty.
A guidebook for the Village of Ginoza led to the discovery of three ancient stone carvings, located within the district of Sokei and the legend behind annual rituals performed there.
The statues were placed in the north, south and west boundaries of the settlement to ward off evil.
Since Okinawa is the birthplace of taco rice, a local take on the taco with international fame, some of the best to be had can be found almost anywhere on island. A good taco, on the other hand, well, that’s not so easy to come by.
With a semi-tropical climate, Okinawa offers not only a lot of sunshine but also a lot of rain. In April, the island experiences a delightful mix of both as the temperatures start to warm and the foliage prepares for the rainy season.
If you think of alcohol and Japan, then the first thing that springs to mind is sake – but there are other alcoholic drinks too, one of which comes from the island of Okinawa! Awamori is an alcoholic drink which is also known as shimazakae, or island sake.
According to Showa Sangyo, a major flour manufacturer/supplier in Japan, it was in the Edo Era (1603 – 1868) when tempura became of part of Japanese cuisine publicly.
Okinawan brown sugar, made from sugarcane grown in fields blessed with strong southern-island sunlight and minerals delivered by the ocean spray, is very rich in flavor.
Much like the holiday season in the States, December is the most cheerful time in Japan thanks to endless year-end parties, called bonenkai (literally, forget-the-year party).
