4 dining spots in Iriomote Island where you can easily go with children
Iriomote Island, the second largest island in Okinawa Prefecture after the main island, is a 40- to 50-minute boat ride from Ishigaki Island and was registered as a World Natural Heritage site in 2021. After playing in the great nature, be sure to taste the delicious food of the island. Here are four restaurants that are easy to visit with children.
1Izakaya Yoshi
Izakaya where you can enjoy fresh fish dishes from the island.
Located close to Uehara Port, this izakaya (Japanese-style pub) serves island cuisine that uses a variety of island ingredients. The "sashimi platter" of the day included tuna, aigwa (aigo), yurimina (magaki mussels), mullet, and meibai (grouper). The assortment is freshly caught by local seamen (fishermen).
The owner, who used to be a sushi chef in Tokyo, started the restaurant in 2015, and of course the sushi is well received. The "Steamed Sawtooth Crab" from the mangroves is a sumptuous dish of large, meaty crabs.
Local restaurant often visited by islanders.
There is also a rare snack made from a fern plant called "hikage hego," which is rarely eaten on other islands. The menu also features ingredients from nearby islands, such as Kurumaebi (tiger prawns) from TaketomiIsland and Misaki beef from Ishigaki Island.
The tables have benches, making it easy for even small children to sit down. There are also a variety of child-friendly dishes such as "Somen Chanpuru," "Egg Chanpuru," and "Kaisen Yakisoba. It is a small restaurant where you can start a conversation with the islanders who are there. They also offer pick-up service with advance reservation.
- Izakaya Yoshi
-
397-45 Uehara, Taketomi-cho, Yaeyama-gun, Okinawa MAP
15 minutes walk from Uehara Port
Take a bus from Uehara Port, get off at "Uehara Elementary School" and walk about 3 minutes.
18:00-22:30
Tuesdays
0980-85-7533
Free of charge
2kitchen inaba
The first Restaurant in Iriomote that also offers children's plates
Restaurant located near "Tudumari Beach." It is said to be the first restaurant established in Iriomote Island. It boasts a variety of menus using fresh seafood unique to the island and other seasonal ingredients.
Among them, the pasta of "Sawtooth Gazami" (a kind of rare crab) living in mangrove, which is served in limited quantities, is the signature dish. The rich crab broth makes this dish an irresistible delicacy. A "children's plate" is also available for children. It is a one-plate meal that includes hamburgers, fries, fried chicken, and other items popular with children.
You can listen to the owner play Sanshin (Okinawan guitar) on some days.
The name of the restaurant, Inaba, is the name of the village where the owner was born and raised in the middle reaches of the Urauchi River. The owner wanted to preserve the name of the village, which is now abandoned. The owner says that he wants to serve delicious foods that he ate as a child, such as "Take-noko Chanpuru," the traditional way of eating.
The owner is also known as a sanshin (Okinawan three-stringed instrument) player and sometimes plays for us when he is in the restaurant. Enjoy your meal with sanshin live performance.
- kitchen inaba
-
- 742-6 Uehara, Taketomi-cho, Yaeyama-gun, Okinawa MAP
- 15 minutes drive from Uehara Port
- Take a bus from Uehara Port, get off at Urauchi bus stop, and walk about 1 minute.
- 18:00-21:00
- Monday, Thursday
- 0980-84-8164
- Free of charge
3Pari no Gohanya (Pari Gohanya)
A restaurant where you can enjoy elaborate Western-style dishes
This Western-style restaurant is run by a chef who has 40 years of experience as a chef in Iriomote Island and Hokkaido. The recommended menu item, "Maas-ni" is a traditional Okinawan stew boiled with salt and awamori. Fresh fish caught at that time is cooked with asa, and the white meat is tender and tender. It is also nice to know that the soup is more plentiful than the typical mars stew.
The omelette, as the name suggests, is exquisite with fluffy, melty eggs. In addition to demi-sauce, you can choose from ketchup, tomato sauce, and cream sauce.
A wide range of food and drink menus are available.
The restaurant was started with the idea of offering Western-style food that can be enjoyed casually with chopsticks, and offers a wide variety of dishes from appetizers to meat and fish dishes, pasta, and omelette rice, so you can easily get lost in the menu. The "Stewed Soki with Red Wine" and "Mozuku Zosui (rice porridge with mozuku seaweed)" are also popular dishes.
There is a wide selection of drinks, including beer, cocktails, wine, shochu, and sake. The interior of the restaurant, which was remodeled by the owner himself, is decorated with a cute French atmosphere. Reservations are recommended due to the restaurant's popularity. They also offer a shuttle service for those who order one drink per person.
- Pari Gohan-ya
-
- 331 Uehara, Taketomi-cho, Yaeyama-gun, Okinawa MAP
- 7 minutes drive from Uehara Port
- Take a bus from Uehara Port, get off at "Nakano" bus stop, and walk about 1 minute.
- 18:00-22:00 (L.O. 21:00)
- Tuesdays and Wednesdays
- 0980-85-6137
- Free of charge
4ichitaka
A restaurant serving authentic oven-baked pizza and local fish, which are rare on the island.
Located in a village called Sumiyoshi, this izakaya is always crowded with islanders. The owner, who grew up on the island, opened the restaurant in 2019 with the hope of "giving people a taste of Iriomote's ingredients," and offers fresh fish and meat dishes from the island, snacks made from island vegetables, and authentic pizza baked in the island's only wood-fired oven.
Pizzas are prepared from scratch and baked in the oven to order. The wood-fired oven bakes the dough to a crisp at high temperature, giving it a unique taste.
A variety of menus and space for children
Even the rice dishes for the end of the meal are substantial, including "Yaeyama Soba" and "Fried Rice with Rafty," which are also recommended for children. The owner's family runs a farm that grows pineapples and mangoes, and drinks made from home-grown fresh fruits are also available. You can also enjoy island sweets such as "Beni Imo Baked Cheesecake.
In addition to table and counter seating, there is also a tatami room, making it an easy place to visit even with children. If you stay at an inn in the western part of the island, it is very convenient to have a pick-up service.
