Cafe ENISHI

First of all

Do you like cake? If you like cake, you should read this article. In this group, our group will introduce “Café ENISHI.”

Location

“Café ENISHI” is located near the Nago crossroads and the market managed by Nago city. It is located between the Nago crossroads and the tree of Gajumaru. Please be careful not to miss it, because there are a lot of shops.

In front of Cafe Enishi

Gajumaru Tree

Atmosphere

When you enter the café, you can see big showcase on you right side. In the case, there are a lot of beautiful cakes. The cakes look refined and expensive. But the taste is so good and reasonable. Maybe some people feel happy only to see then. And the staff waits on customers very well with a gentle tone and good smiles. The café has a calm atmosphere because we can listen to some quiet music.

Inside the cafe.

Menu

If you visit this café during lunch time or dinner time, you can choose and eat pasta, pizza, rice and curry, or tacos. And this café has a daily special lunch menu.

During café time, you can eat not too expensive cake because during café time, you can choose a cake set. We recommend strawberry short cake. It is so good because very sweet and the cake is bite size so we can eat many different cakes.

Time / Price

• Open: 11am
• Close: 10pm
• Lunch: 11am to 2pm / 740yen~ + tax
• Café time: 2pm to 6pm / cake set: 500yen + tax
• Dinner: 6pm to 10pm (last order: 9:30) / 750yen + tax

Address: Nago, Ohigashi 1-11-1

Phone number: 0980-43-0533

That’s all. Thank you.

Higashi Restaurant

Do you want to experience a new kind of shaved ice? If you want to experience it, you must go to “Higashi restaurant.” It has wonderfully delicious and innovative shaved ice. It’s maybe the number one shaved ice in Nago City. No, it’s maybe number one in Okinawa. This restaurant is featured by many local TV programs, so there are many customers every day. But don’t worry, most of the customers are coming for the famous shaved ice so they don’t stay as long as the customers who come for regular food like Okinawa soba and fried rice. So, many people just eat shaved ice and get out fast. Some people come for a takeout shaved ice. Higashi restaurant has takeout service for shaved ice so you don’t have to stay at the restaurant. You can eat shaved ice even if you are busy.

Now, we are going to talk about our first impression of the Higashi restaurant. The first thing we saw when we arrived at the place was a huge sign saying, “ひがし食堂” on top of the restaurant so we couldn’t miss it.

Actually, there were a few signs which were describing how to get to the restaurant on the way to Higashi restaurant so we could get to the restaurant without any confusion in the first place. When we entered the restaurant, we were amazed by its cozy atmosphere.

We saw many menus on the wall so we could pick what we wanted to eat before we even opened the menu book.

We ordered four kinds of shaved ice and fried rice. The shaved ice’s flavor was milk strawberry, milk green tea and milk zenzai. We strongly recommend the flavor with milk sauce because it makes the shaved ice better. When the shaved ices arrived at our table, we were fascinated by the huge ice towers. We didn’t know where we should start eating from because it was so huge. When we ate it, we thought that we were eating cold cotton candy because it melted like cotton candy in our mouths. We finished our shaved ice real quick without thinking about the brain freeze. Actually, we couldn’t think about the brain freeze because they were so good so our spoons never stopped. And also the regular meal like fried rice is so delicious too. All the food has an Okinawan taste so you could experience Okinawan flavor style easily by visiting “Higashi restaurant.”

In conclusion, we want say that if you go to Higashi restaurant, please order the famous shaved ice and eat it up before it melts because we want everyone to experience the innovative texture. After you experience this shaved ice, you won’t want to eat other shaved ice because your heart and mouth will be captured by Higashi’s shaved ice. 

Opening Hours
11:30~18:30

The place is next to Agarie Junior High School, in downtown Nago.

The address of the Higashi restaurant:
〒905-0016 沖縄県名護市大東２丁目７－１　Okinawa prefecture, Nago City, Ohigashi 2 street 7-1

Yakiniku no Ganaha

Welcome to Ganaha!

Restaurant 

We went to Yakiniku no Ganaha. This restaurant is very popular in Nago City. Fresh meat can be eaten because they raise their own animal stock. They have three restaurants owned by Ganaha Meat in Naha City. They will open a new restaurant in Nago City in August, 2015. This restaurant probably will become Ganaha Meat’s largest. 

Looks

You can choose to sit inside or outside. Inside seating is by kotatsu floor and outside seat is western-style table. Sometimes, famous poaple visit there, so there are a lot of autographs. The Chinese often come to eat meat even though many people visit there. This is because Ganaha is introduced in a Chinese guide book. There are three statues of the agu pig at the entrance. The visitors often enjoy taking pictures with them.

Menu

              Lunch time and dinner time are different. The lunch time menu is a set meal whose price is about 700~3500 yen. In contrast, the dinner time menu is grilled meat and shabushabu whose price is different based on each visitor’s order. The dinner time offers many kinds of dishes. Especially, the set meal is popular. The chef is particular about the side menu, too. The agu bacon rice received a prize at the Nago One Grand Prix. It smells like garlic and the bacon is so juicy.

Event

           On Wednesdays, men receive half-price drinks if they are in an all-men group. On Thursdays, women receive half-price drinks if they are in an all-women group.

              Every 29^th is called “the day of meat.” And you can eat Japanese beef at half the price. You can enjoy them at a low price when you go there with your friends or family.

Our Impression

              When we went to Ganaha, it was Sunday, and they had an event. We ate assorted beef and pork at half the price. We ate it sharing with five of us, so each person only paid about 1500 yen for it. The price was cheaper than we thought it would be. The food’s texture was soft, and so delicious. The first sauce is handmade by a chef. The second sauce is by mail order. The last sauce tastes of salt.

              Also, one person of our group did not like beef and pork. At first, we thought she was not able to eat anything. However, Ganaha not only has beef and pork but also chicken, salad, and even several kinds of soups and sweets. Even if you cannot eat meat, you do not need to be worried about what you eat.

              We are satisfied with their foods and price.

Address

           〒905-0011

              2F 1410-1 Miyazato, Nago City, Okinawa

How to go from Meio to Ganaha

           We leave Meio University and turn left at the first traffic light. Go straight. Then, turn left at LAWSON. You will see the signboard of Ganaha on the left after McDonalds. The signboard is painted with a pig, a chicken and a cow on a train.

Phone number

           050-5845- 6089

Open

           11:00a.m. to 3:00p.m.  Lunch

           5:00p.m. to 12:00p.m.  Dinner

http://www.yanbaru-shimabuta.com/

Let's go Lily!

From Meio University to Lily.

Have you been to Lily? Do you know Lily? Lily is a gelato store; gelato is Italian-style ice cream. We went there by car. It took about 20 minutes from Meio University. We had trouble arriving at Lily because there was only one signboard indicating the location. So, we used Google maps on our cellphone. If you haven’t ever been there, you may lose your way.

When you pass through the slightly involved way, you can see two big trees on both sides. That is the gate of “Lily”. There is an antique Okinawa house there, and Lily is next to the house. 

Lily’s outward form, which is based on brown, creates a calm atmosphere. The outskirts of Lily are very quiet, so you can hear the songs of birds. Moreover, there are terrace seats outside, so you can view the beautiful ocean of Okinawa.

~MENU~

＊Lunch plate (11:30am~3:00pm) 1,000yen

Lunch A (meat)

Lunch B (fish)

                                   

You can choose your main dish from A or B. If you want something to drink, you can choose coffee or tea, but you have to pay an additional charge of 300yen

Hot coffee

＊Tea menu (all 400yen)

• Plain tea (hot or ice)
• Lemon tea (hot or ice)
• Milk tea (hot or ice)
• Rose hips tea (hot)

＊Coffee

• Espresso
• American
• Blend

＊Soft drink

• Orange
• Blood Orange ・・・it is orange juice, but only uses red pulp
• Elderflower　・・・it is a herbal drink with a Muscat taste
• Cola

You can choose 3 flavors from many tastes.

＊Gelato (all) 450yen,
＊Drink set 700yen






＊Local Yanbaru water (500ml) 100yen 
  

＊Cake set

• Today's cake and drink.
• The price is different for each cake.

cheese cake

Why is this an important place in Nago?
Lily is a famous café in Nago. You can enjoy not only ice cream but also the beautiful view. Lily is surrounded by a lot of nature. There are no big shopping centers, famous shrines to visit, or an amusement park, but Nago has beautiful places like the ocean, river and mountains. When the travelers visit  Nago, they seek beautiful views to relax, so Lily uses such  points to gather them. The most interesting is the goat house in Lily's neighborhood . The goat milk ice cream is made of the goat in the house. It is fresh and delicious. The only place where you can eat fresh goat milk ice cream.

There are big shopping center and amusement parks anywhere, but the nature is restricted. I think that to enjoy the Nago style, Lily is important.

The entrance

Gelato Café Lily is located in the forest in Nago city. And you can see Okinawa’s very beautiful sea. So we can eat gelato while feeling the nature of Okinawa. Also Okinawa-style gelato is sold there. For example, Beniimo, Mango&Passion, and shikwasa. If you go there, you can feel and enjoy Okinawa.

Open: Wednesday to Sunday
Closed: Monday and Tuesday
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 19:00 p.m.

Address: 〒 905-0007, Nago City, 918 Yabu
Tel: 0980-53-8727

Terrace

Paanilani: Hawaiian Pancakes

The journey to Paanilani from Meio University was quite interesting. We wanted to get there in time for breakfast, so we went at about 10 am. Paanilani is open from 7:00-17:00. No one quite knew how to get there, so we made a couple of wrong turns along the way. We even got a couple of confused looks from the elderly. It took about fifty minutes via the Okinawa Expressway and Route 58. If we had chosen to use only Route 58, it would have taken about 40 minutes. However, we enjoyed the beautiful scenic view as we drove past the ocean. The parking at Paanilani was very convenient. There was a large dirt parking lot across the street from the restaurant.

The very first thing that we saw was the window display. A map of the Hawaiian Islands as well as a surfboard were proudly displayed. 

We didn’t have to wait long for a table and the five of us sat down to look at the menus. The pancakes ranged from 800-2,500 yen. Ordering a coffee or tea with a pancake cost only 300 yen, while ordering the other drinks ranged in price from 400-500 yen. 

After taking a few minutes to decide, we ordered four different pancakes. Each dish came with at least two pancakes. The King Bacon Pancake was topped with whipped cream and a large thick slice of bacon. This bacon was very flavorful and complimented the pancakes very well. This menu item is one of the two recommended dishes. The second recommended menu item is the Nuts Nuts Pancake which was topped with bananas and a coconut macadamia nut sauce. The Very Berry Pancake came with mixed berries and whipped cream on top. The mixed berries were a refreshing twist of sour and sweet. The Tropical Pancake had pineapple pancakes and mango sauce. All of these pancakes were absolutely delicious!

After we were all full, we had the privilege of interviewing the owner. The owner was very forthcoming when he answered our questions. The restaurant name is broken into two parts, paani and lani. Paani, meaning water, is from Fiji. Lani, meaning heaven, comes from Hawaii. He expressed that he “wished to make an oasis where people’s minds and stomachs were filled with happiness.” Paanilani has been open since 2012 and he was inspired from his experience of working in Hawaii. In his mind, Okinawa and Hawaii had many similarities and he wished to let other people in Okinawa share this experience. According to him, pancakes are popular in Japan as sweets. However, in Hawaii, people eat them as a dish in their own right. He explained that this is part of the reason that Paanilani stands out from other pancake restaurant competitors. The owner’s favorite menu item is the King Bacon Pancake with the fried egg option. He finished the interview by telling us his dreams of the future. He hopes that this business with be successful for decades to come. Not only was the owner kind enough to give us an interview, but a picture with him as well.

Overall, the experience at Paanilani was fantastic. If you’d like to experience some sweet pancake dishes, Paanilani is our recommendation. There’s a type of pancake for everyone and it’ll leave you, the customer, as full and as satisfied as we were.

Directions on how to get there:

住所: 〒904-0404 沖縄県国頭郡恩納村瀬良垣６９８

電話:098-966-1154

営業時間: Every day opens between 7:00~17:00

The address is 〒904-0404 Seragaki 698, Onna Village, Kunigami, Okinawa Prefecture.

Phone number: 098-966-1154

It should take you about 1 hour to get there from Meio by a car.

How to get there:

• From Meio, go south by car. Go to Route 58 and turn right, and continue south.
• When you get to the Onna bypass, turn right.
• Go along the street and you will see Paanilani on the right.

Kouri Island (Kourijima)

Shall we drive to Kouri Bridge while enjoying the scenery of Yambaru (Okinawa’s North Area)?

Kouri Bridge is a famous tourist spot in Okinawa and takes you to Kourijima. The island’s circumference is about 8 km, and fishing and agriculture are popular there. Also, there are a lot of traditional Okinawa houses. You will need a little money for gas, but you will definitely get some sun and be impressed when you get to see the amazing view of the sea.

We would like to introduce some famous spots of Kouri Island and let foreign students know the beautiful environment around Okinawa, and know the unknown culture and history of Kourijima.

This is the front of Kourijima Bridge. It was opened in 2005. Until 2010, it was the longest bridge to a remote island in Japan. But, in 2010, a longer bridge from Miyakojima to Irabu Ohashi was built.

The two pictures above show the observation tower.

These two pictures show the view from the tower (above) and the deep blue sea opening in front (below).

Kouri Ohashi stretches straight from the center of the blue sea. You will be impressed by the superb view.

Heart Rock in Kouri

It became famous since a Japanese commercial started to broadcast on TV. If you would like to stop by there, the best time to see it is around sunset. This side of the sea is not very famous so it is very quiet and you are going to feel that you are on private beach.  You will definitely enjoy the sun and seascape shining bright and may spend time relaxing in winter.

Kourijima’s legend: Okinawa’s version of Adam and Eve

Once upon a time, two children, a boy and a girl, fell from the sky to Kourijima. At first they were naked, and every day they ate rice cakes which fell from the sky, and they lived happily. They became worried about what they would do if one day a rice cake did not fall, so they began to save a little bit every day. After they began saving, however, the rice cakes stopped falling. They sang songs toward the moon of the sky. But the rice cakes never fell again. Therefore, they began to live at the beach and they caught fish and shells and knew the pains of life and labor. They watched the copulation of the dugong and came to cover their private parts with Kuba leaves, being conscious of the difference between men and women. Their descendants increased and they became the parents of the RyuKyuans.

How to get there 

Ten years ago, people traveled to Kourijima by going back and forth on a boat from Nakijin village harbor. Now, though, you can drive there easily:

To get to Kouri island from the expressway in Nago, take Route 58. You can stay on 58 through the city, but you have to be prepared for a traffic jam, especially on weekends. Drive past AEON and JA, then take a left on to 110, toward Yagaji Island. Drive across Yagaji island, and take a left to stay on 110 mid-island. Then take a right on 247 to Kourjima, and you will soon see the longest bridge in Okinawa leading right to the island.

Neo Park



This is the entrance to Neo Park. Looks cool, doesn't it?

There is a huge map on the board.
It tells you where to go and were you are at.

It was a sunny day when we went to a famous zoo called ‘Neo Park’ in Nago. As everyone living in and around Nago knows ‘Neo Park,’ we thought, “why don’t we go check it out.” We expected that Neo Park would be boring and just a zoo where you can see so many birds, but actually we enjoyed it a lot.



A grey-crowned crane begs for food. It is tall and looks scary,
but actually it is nice. You can feed it by hand. It won't hurt you.

Flamingo Lake

This area is the first zone in Neo Park. At first, before you go, you should get some food for the birds. Flamingo Lake shows many kinds of birds which live in Africa, and the lake is based on Naruku Lake in Kenya. You can feed the birds by hand. They have become attached to people, so they approach you and beg for the food.

Scarlet Ibis. It is very beautiful and easy to find.

Amazon Jungle

You can see red-orange birds in here. You can enjoy feeding birds too!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Underwater Tunnel

We found a pleco fish kissing a glass tank. Oh, don’t forget to find the prarucu fish. They are huge, so you can’t miss them.

 

Peccary Ranch

Peccaries look like wild pigs but they are not! If you are lucky, you can watch them eat food.

 

Freai Hiroba (petting zoo area)

This is popular among all ages. You can come in contact with animals such as dogs, rabbits and capybaras. They are very friendly and nice. There is a Galapagos tortoise, and you can ride on its back.




We touched an alpaca's nose. It is said that if you touch its nose,
happiness will come to you.





You can feed a capybara.

On our way to a different place where you can see animals living in Oceania, we found ostriches. We were watching them sit on the ground for a while. And suddenly, it happened. One ostrich stood up, and something pink came out of its butt. And then white stuff came out from the same spot. At first, we didn’t know what it was. But we kept looking at it very carefully, and we found out that it was ostrich’s poop.

 

Ostriches look evil.

 

When we got to the Oceania Flora and Fauna, we saw beautiful peacocks, and a wallaby there.

The eyes on the tail display as part of courtship.

The wallaby looks like a kangaroo but is smaller than a kangaroo.

 

Research Center for International Species Conservation

This facility is for protecting and breeding rare wild life all over the world. In here, we can see the Okinawan rails.

Directions

From the Kyoda interchange, go north on 58 toward Kunigami town for 20 minutes. Go past AEON in Nago and turn left at the first traffic signal. The gate of Neo Park Okinawa [ネオパーク 沖縄] is your landmark.

Cost

Entrance

• Adult: 660 yen
• Youth: 330 yen
• Juvenile: 220 yen

If your group has more than 15 people, the entrance fee is 10% off.

Okinawa Light Railway

• over 13 years old: 660 yen
• from 3 years old to 12 years old: 440 yen

Petting zoo area

• 300 yen

Research center for International Species Conservation

• 300 yen

Koki is petting dogs.

Kohei is holding a guinea pig. So cute!