OKINAWA · MAKISHI PUBLIC MARKET ROUTE

Makishi Public Market Route

This route walks the Makishi Public Market, "the kitchen of Naha," and the Heiwa-dori and market lanes around it. The first floor is bright with reef fish, pork, island tofu and sea grapes, and the culture of mochiage survives, carrying what you buy up to a second-floor diner to be cooked. Sashimi, offal soup, trotter, using the whole pig and tasting the southern sea up close, this is the district at the core of Okinawan food.

🚇 Yui Rail Makishi Stn, then walk🚶 ~90 min on foot🍽 6 dishes

Walking the kitchen of Naha

Makishi Public Market grew from a postwar black market and still sustains Naha's food. The first floor lines fishmongers, butchers, dried-goods and tofu shops, and reef fish bright as tropical creatures glint on ice, red and blue: the prefectural gurukun, white-fleshed machi, the large irabucha. Pork is sold head to foot, ears, offal and trotter all present. Sea grapes, island scallions and colourful fish cakes stand too. This serves not only visitors but the kitchens of local restaurants and homes. Circle the first floor first to see with your eyes the richness of the island's sea and pig.

Mochiage, pork and sea

The pleasure of this market is mochiage. Carry the fish, shellfish or meat chosen below up to a second-floor diner and pay a fee to have it cooked. Cut as sashimi, the island fish reveals a sweetness softer and lighter in fat than the mainland's. You can choose the method: maasu-ni simmered in only salt and awamori, fragrant butter-grill, or fried. The pork is not to be missed either: nakami-jiru, stomach and intestine parboiled again and again into a clear broth, and tebichi, trotter simmered until it falls from the bone. Sea grapes pop, and soft yushi-dofu is ladled warm before it sets. Sharing among several and trying many plates a little at a time is how to enjoy this market.

How to walk this route

Start at Makishi on the Yui Rail. From the station, pass south through the arcades of the market lanes and Heiwa-dori, and midway sits the Makishi Public Market. Walk the first floor first to survey fish and pork and pick what draws you. Sashimi and sea grapes can be eaten at once, but if you buy a whole fish, carry it up, mochiage, to a second-floor diner to be cooked. Diners line the second floor; ask the going cooking fee before ordering to be safe. Nakami-jiru, tebichi and yushi-dofu can also be ordered at the diners directly. The market peaks by day and many shops close by evening. The aisles are narrow and crowded, so travel light. The fish changes daily, and prices, fees and hours are a guide, so check at the shop before you order.

Route map

Makishi Stn → Market St → Makishi Public Market → Heiwa-dori (the kitchen of Naha)　·　numbers match the dishes below

The dishes on this route (6)

Tap through to each shop and dish

魚1SeafoodSecond-floor diner, Makishi Public Market×Reef-fish sashimi (gurukun, machi)Bright reef fish chosen at a first-floor fishmonger are sliced into sashimi at a second-floor diner. The prefectural fish gurukun and the prized white-fleshed machi appear. Softer than mainland fish, their fat is light. Dissolve island chili into soy and pair with awamori. Eaten in the market's heat, the plate brings the southern sea close.Nearest Makishi StnPrice ¥1,000–1,800 魚2SeafoodMarket seafood stall×Umibudo (sea grapes)A green seaweed whose tiny beads cluster like grapes. In the mouth they pop, and a sea scent spreads with the salt. Eaten with a light dip of sweet vinegar or ponzu, added just before eating, since a long soak shrinks the beads. Sold in small packs to eat on the spot. Not over-chilled, at room temperature the beads hold their snap.Nearest Makishi StnPrice ¥500–900 食3soupMarket tofu shop / diner×Yushi-dofu (soft-curd tofu)Tofu before it is pressed, in soft clouds. Bean curd loosely set with seawater brine, ladled warm into a bowl. It carries the sweetness of soy and a sea-salt edge, eaten plain or floated in bonito broth. Many shops make yushi-dofu soba with noodles. Market tofu shops sell it fresh by weight in the morning.Nearest Makishi StnPrice ¥400–700 食4soupSecond-floor Okinawan diner×Nakami-jiru (pork tripe soup)Pig stomach and intestine, parboiled again and again until the smell is gone, finished in a clear bonito broth. The offal is tender and the soup startlingly clean and refined. Drink it with grated ginger. A bowl that stands for Okinawa's nose-to-tail use of the pig, it appears at celebrations and memorials. With rice it makes a light meal.Nearest Makishi StnPrice ¥600–900 肉5MeatSecond-floor Okinawan diner×Tebichi (braised pig trotter)Pig trotter simmered long in soy, awamori and bonito broth. Skin and gelatin fall soft off the bone. The fat seems heavy, yet the sweet-savoury braising liquid closes the finish. There is a plate cooked with radish and kelp, and a soup version, tebichi-jiru. Lift the bone with chopsticks and eat the skin as if sucking it.Nearest Makishi StnPrice ¥700–1,000 魚6SeafoodSecond-floor diner (mochiage)×Reef fish, salt-simmered or butter-grilledA fish chosen downstairs is carried up to the diner to be cooked. Maasu-ni, an Okinawan method of simmering fish in only salt, awamori and water, lets the flesh's sweetness stand straight. Butter-grilled, it turns fragrant and filling. The cooking fee is set per dish and it suits sharing. The very pleasure of the market on a plate.Nearest Makishi StnPrice ¥1,500–2,500

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