Five cafes on Iriomote Island where you can enjoy special sweets and exquisite food.
Iriomote Island in the Yaeyama Islands was registered as a World Natural Heritage site in 2021. This island, where you can fully enjoy the rich nature, also has many gourmet spots. Among unique cafes where you can enjoy special sweets and exquisite meals, we will introduce five recommended stores where you can take a breather during your trip.
1boy from iriomote
Cozy cafe right in front of the harbor
This café boasts coffee slowly brewed by hand drip. There is a covered terrace and outside seating where you can relax and enjoy the view of the greenery. The barista blends original coffee in three varieties: shallow roast, medium roast, and extra deep roast.
The "Hateruma Island Brown Sugar Molasses French Toast" is browned in a skillet and served hot. The brown sugar from the neighboring island of Hateruma is just the right amount of sweetness, and the portion is generous. Hot dogs, tapioca milk tea, and honey cinnamon chai are also available.
Enjoy a pleasant coffee time surrounded by greenery.
Breakfast items such as the "Morning Plate" and "Croque Madame" are popular, as are lunch items such as the "Jerk Chicken Plate" and "Mushroom and Hamburger Steak Doria with Cream Sauce. The friendly owner, who is also a surfer, is a pleasure to chat with.
The name of the restaurant was inspired by the sight of adults who came to the island to play and enjoy themselves innocently, as if they were boys and girls again, and he hopes that such people will continue to come to visit the island in the future. It is located right in front of Uehara Port, so it is recommended to relax before boarding the ship or during the last time on the island.
- A boy from Iriomote
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Uehara-kan, 559 Uehara, Taketomi-cho, Yaeyama-gun, Okinawa MAP
About 3 minutes walk from Uehara Port
9:00-17:00 (Food L.O.14:00)
Tuesdays
090-7592-5592
Free of charge
2nanasi cà phê
Vietnamese café overlooking a beautiful cove
The cafe is located right in front of a quiet cove of Shirahama, the westernmost village that can be reached by car in Iriomote Island. It serves Vietnamese sweets such as "Chee" and Taiwanese "Douhua", and meals such as "Pho", "Bain Mee", and "Taiwanese soup".
The "Chee with Mango and Coconut Milk" is a luxurious and refreshing sweet filled with the island's specialty mangoes. The owner's husband runs a farm and uses the mangoes and pineapples he grows for his sweets and juices. Vietnamese coffee" is a local-style sweet coffee with condensed milk.
Once you step into the store, you will be in a different space in Iriomote Island.
For meals, there are "fresh spring rolls" and "Vietnamese-style chilled somen noodles. There is also a wide selection of drinks, including pineapple juice, shell ginger tea, and homemade ginger ale.
The interior of the restaurant has an Asian atmosphere that makes you feel as if you have been transported to another place, and the owner's sense of taste overflows in the decorations and accessories used. With relaxing music playing and time flowing slowly, some customers actually spend hours relaxing in the space before leaving. Don't miss the woodwork, handmade T-shirts, and souvenirs from artists on the island.
- nanasi cà phê (nanasi cafe)
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- 1499-54 Iriomote, Taketomi-cho, Yaeyama-gun, Okinawa MAP
- Approximately 30 minutes by car from Uehara Port
Take a bus from Uehara Port, get off at "Shirahama" and walk about 4 minutes.- Around 12:00 - 16:00 (L.O.15:30)
- Sunday, Monday
- 090-6898-0352
- Free of charge
3cafe rico
An old house cafe where you can enjoy handmade sweets.
The café is located in a quiet village called Hoshitate, where traditional houses still stand. It serves healthy snacks and drinks made with seasonal island products. The sweets change seasonally, with "Hitokuchi Montblanc" and "Imoyokan" available in winter. Both are made with brown sugar from Iriomote Island and have a gentle flavor that allows you to enjoy the taste of the ingredients.
Several kinds of butter- and egg-free baked sweets are also available every day. The ingredients are organic and natural as much as possible, and the coffee is also purchased organic and slowly roasted here.
Tatami room with a view of the garden.
The handmade "enzyme juice" is made from guava, mulberries, shakatou, and other seasonal fruits and wild plants that are close at hand. Since living in this village, her grandmother in the neighborhood teaches her a lot about medicinal herbs and herbs that grow wild.
The owner, who used to work at a natural café, has been choosing healthier ingredients and making homemade snacks as much as possible since the birth of her child. She also offers her favorite foods on the café's menu. Shaved ice is also available in the summer.
4asian obanzai momokaka
A restaurant with a multinational atmosphere
The cafeteria offers Asian-flavored rice and snacks with Chinese, Taiwanese, and other flavors and spices. Meals change weekly and are served on one plate with soup. For example, there is a lineup of ethnic side dishes such as "Taiwanese braised chicken wings," "Stir-fried street stalls with pepper," and "Vietnamese-style refreshing eggplant.
The "homemade lemonade" is made with plenty of pesticide-free island lemons grown by farmers on Iriomote Island. The refreshing flavor is perfect for a hot day. Beer and coffee are also available.
Gentle and simple homemade snacks
The coconut dumplings, which are handmade daily, are filled with a soft sweet black sesame bean paste. The doughnut is plain and has a sticky texture. Both have a simple taste.
The Chinese character for "baoxianggua" is a Chinese word meaning passion fruit, and the owner, who has roots in China, thought it would be a good idea to incorporate something Chinese into the name. The restaurant is located in the souvenir store "Sonai Chikyuza" in the village of Sonai, which is considered the oldest village on the island, and has a large selection of island souvenirs.
- Asian Obanzai Hyakkouka
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- Inside Sonaichikuiza, 896-1 Iriomote, Taketomi-cho, Yaeyama-gun, Okinawa MAP
- 20 minutes drive from Uehara Port
- Take a bus from Uehara Port, get off at Sonai, and walk 5 min.
- 11:00-16:00 (L.O.15:00)
- Sunday, Monday
- 050-5275-0268
- Free of charge
5yamaneko curry laboratory
A café where you can enjoy authentic Indian cuisine with a hint of spice
This Indian café is run by the owner, who used to work as an assistant at a cooking school run by an Indian chef. The spices are authentic, with the aroma created by pounding them on an Indian millstone.
The plates are always different, using a variety of island ingredients such as vegetables, herbs, and fish, and always include two types of curry and four or five side dishes. They have about 100 different curry dishes in their repertoire. Some of the curries are spicy but light and not too spicy, so that even children can enjoy them.
Indian snacks and chai to make you feel at home
The samosas are handmade from the crust, and on this particular day, the ingredients were island lemon and potatoes. The soft dough is filled with a texture of soft and chewy ingredients, and the spices are also effective. The "chai" with pipa-chi (long pepper) grown in Iriomote Island is exquisitely delicious with several kinds of spices. Chai Masala" in a bag is also available, so it is recommended as a souvenir.
The owner says, "I want to show people that they can enjoy different flavors of island ingredients by using spices. Cooking classes are also offered, and you can participate even during your trip. See their schedule on Instagram.
- Yamaneko Curry Institute
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- 584-1 Uehara, Taketomi-cho, Yaeyama-gun, Okinawa MAP
- 5 minutes walk from Uehara Port
- 11:00～14:00（L.O.13:30)
- Open about 10 days a month (see Instagram for open days)
- Free of charge
