5 Best Restaurants in Okinawa, Japan

Perched on the Hope Hills area of Nakijin, Cafe Kokuu serves delicious Japanese and Okinawan cuisine in an elegant wooden building with stunning views of the countryside and ocean. All dishes are created with organic wild and farm-grown vegetables from the Yambaru region. Food is served only between 11:30 am and 4 pm.

In a traditional house with a tile roof, this lively izakaya-style restaurant has a helpful picture menu. On the second floor there are Okinawan music and dance performances most nights at 6, 7, and 8 (with an additional ¥550 service charge). It's on Kokusai Street a few blocks south of the Starbucks.

This greasy spoon has been serving some of the island's best fare since 1958; locals know it simply as Mutsumi. Everything is twice as big and three times as filling as it looks, with soup and rice included.

Warm scones with homemade jams and lashings of clotted cream, cucumber sandwiches, and quiches with buttery crusts—to find these British culinary icons hidden in the subtropical forest of northern Okinawa would seem almost impossible, until you find out that the tea shop's chef Maki once worked at London's Savoy restaurant. On her return to Japan, she brought her very particular set of skills to the town of Motobu, and since then local residents have been able to take afternoon tea like Her Majesty the Queen.  

The longevity of Okinawans has gained worldwide attention, and Ukishima Garden provides the health conscious with delicious meat-free dishes and organic wines. The grain burger is tasty, but on a hot summer's day the cold noodles with crunchy veggies hit the spot.