Japan (Lonely Planet, 11th Edition) - Chris Rowthorn [595]
Mouri Mouri (92-0538; meals from ¥1500; dinner). Opposite the Kankō Hotel Azuma, this is a friendly place for dinner in Wadomari. See if you can break the local beer-chugging record (that’s skolling for Australians and Kiwis).
There are two minimarkets in town for self-catering.
GETTING THERE & AWAY
Okinoerabu has flights to/from Kagoshima (¥27,050, one hour 30 minutes, three daily), Amami-Ōshima (from ¥15,400, 35 minutes, one daily) and Yoron-tō (from ¥9200, 25 minutes, one daily) on JAC.
Okinoerabu-shima is served by Maruei/A Line ferries, which run between Kagoshima (some originating in Honshu) and Naha, and Amami Kaiun ferries, which run between Kagoshima and Okinoerabu-shima. See the Amami-Ōshima section Click here for details.
The island has a decent bus system, but you’ll definitely welcome the convenience of a car, scooter or touring bicycle. You’ll find Toyata Renta Car (; 92-2100) right outside the airport.
Yoron-tō
0997 / pop 6000
A mere 5km across, tiny Yoron-tō is the southernmost island in Kagoshima-ken. On a good day, Okinawa-hontō’s northernmost point of Hedo-misaki is clearly visible just 23km to the southwest. Fringed with picture-perfect white-sand beaches and extensive (if fairly dull) coral reefs, Yoron-tō is one of the most appealing islands in the Southwest Islands chain.
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A FOOD LOVER’S GUIDE TO OKINAWA
In the culinary lexicon of Japanese food, if kansai-ryōri (Kansai cuisine) is a different dialect, then Okinawan cuisine is a different language. Reflecting its geographic and historical isolation – Naha is closer both geographically and culturally to Taipei than Tokyo – the food of Okinawa and the Southwest Islands shares little in common with that of mainland Japan. Since it was only approximately 130 years ago that the Ryūkyū kingdom was incorporated into the country, the southern islands still have a strong sense of being caught between the two behemoth cultures of China and Japan.
Okinawan cuisine originated from the splendour of the Ryūkyū court and from the humble lives of the impoverished islanders. Healthy eating is considered to be extremely important. Indeed, island thought has long held that medicine and food are essentially one and the same. The Okinawan language actually splits foodstuffs into kusui-mun (medicinal foods) and ujinīmum (body-nutritious foods). Today the island’s staple foods are pork, which is acidic and rich in protein, and konbu (a type of seaweed), which is alkaline and calorie free.
The humble pig often features in Okinawan food, and every part of the animal is used, from top to bottom. Mimigā (), which is thinly sliced pig’s ears marinated in vinegar, might not be at the top of every gourmand’s must-try list. However, on a hot, sweltering night in Naha, it’s the perfect accompaniment to a cold glass of Orion (), the extremely quaffable local lager. Rafutē (), which is very similar to the mainland buta-no-kakuni (), is pork stewed with ginger, brown sugar, rice wine and soy sauce until it falls apart. If you’re looking for a bit of stamina, you should also try an inky black bowl of ikasumi-jiru (), which is stewed pork in black squid ink. Finally, try the inamudotchi (), a hearty stew of pork, fish, mushrooms, potatoes and miso that is said to be reminiscent of eating wild boar.
While stewing is common, Okinawans prefer stir-frying, and refer to the technique as champurū (). Perhaps the best known stir-fry is gōya-champurū (), which is a mix of pork, bitter melon and the island’s unique tofu, shima-dōfu (). Shima-dōfu is distinguished from the mainland variety by its sturdy consistency, which makes it especially suited to frying. Occasionally, you will come across an unusual variant known as tōfuyō (), which is sorely fermented, violently spicy and fluorescent pink – try small amounts from the end of a toothpick and do not eat the whole