Nakamura Soba, an Okinawan soba restaurant.
She told me this was a place Japanese visitors simply had to try when they came to Okinawa. I wondered how good a bowl of soba could really be, but the long queue, with waits of tens of minutes, made me more curious. When we arrived, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese visitors were all taking numbered tickets and waiting together. As you can see in the photos, the ocean view is a little bonus.
Here, however, Okinawa's sea is more than scenery. The aroma of seaweed in the broth also brings a sense of the island. Located in Onna, Nakamura Soba expresses that Okinawan flavor through its asa soba.
Asa is a green seaweed commonly eaten in Okinawa. Here, it is not just placed on top of the broth: it is also worked into the house-made noodles and kamaboko fish cake. That layering of seaweed flavor throughout the bowl is distinctive.
The foundation is a clear broth made with plenty of bonito flakes and noodles made in-house. After resting sufficiently, the noodles are kneaded by hand so that they work well with the broth. Sweet and salty braised pork adds a contrast to the light soup.
If you would like more meat, consider Nakamura soba, topped with chopped pork belly. Soki soba is another option, with pork ribs simmered in a special sauce. Even with the same noodles and broth, the choice of topping changes the character of the meal.
Across the road from the restaurant lies Onna's sea. On a drive along the west coast, this is a place worth pausing for a bowl of Okinawan soba.
Price impression: Affordable.
View Nakamura Soba on Google Maps ↗