The Uncertain 7-Day Okinawa Journey: Ufuya

Day 2: Nago Pineapple Park --> Ufuya (1 hr 15 mins) --> Kouri Island --> Nakijin Castle --> Centurion Hotel Resort Vintage Okinawa

Once we were done at Nago Pineapple Park, we headed for lunch at a converted folk house, Ufuya. I found this restaurant online, and reviews indicated a 100-year history, great scenery and great food, abet with a great price too. This was probably the priciest meal we had in our entire trip. But well, Okinawa is famous for its Agu pork and Ufuya is famous for Agu pork. Put 2 and 2 together, and Ufuya's in the intinerary.

Ufuya (大家 うふやー) is a 5-minute drive away from Nago Pineapple Park. It was only later when I looked through the brochures again, that I realised that the pineapple park and Ufuya were under the same parent company. Which now explains why they also use driverless carts to bring you from the carpark to the restaurant. Now this time, my parents were exceptionally grateful for the carts because the restaurant was at the bottom of a really steep slope. It would have taken a lot of effort (and unnecessary pain) if mom had to walk the slopes on her own.

Ok, once we reached the restaurant, I forgot to take pictures until mom reminded me. I'm sorry but yeah excitement for Agu pork took over. As usual, food brings out "the best" in me yah. So no, I didn't get any photo of the restaurant. Post lunch coma made me forget too. So I'm really sorry but you'd just have to take my word that the place was really picturesque.

Now, Ufuya is pretty well-known amongst tourists and locals alike. So as advised by reviews I read, I made reservations prior flying off. Else, it was said that the wait could be as long as an hour just to get a table. On the day itself, even though we were slightly early, there were already people inside the restaurant having meals. By the time it hit peak lunch hour, the crowd really thronged in during our meal and the place filled up very quickly. It was the most crowded place I had seen during this trip in these Covid-19 times. Thank goodness I made that reservation.

As advertised, the scenery was awesome. Imagine dining right next to a waterfall, cascading streams, lush greenery, brightly coloured flowers and fluttering butterflies. Oh yeah! We were fortunate enough to be seated right next to a waterfall. My parents were really stunned and remarked that this was probably one of the prettiest places they've ever eaten at.

While making reservations, I was directed to also book the meals. No brainer that I selected the Agu pork shabu-shabu set for all of us. Well, there was also the famous Ishigaki beef set but as my parents do not eat beef, I had to settle for just the Agu pork.

As usual, we were first served the appetizers and the dipping sauces. And that's when we had our first taste of the famous Umibudo (Okinawan sea grapes 海ぶどう). Umibudo is a kind of seaweed but instead of leaves like the kelp that we usually see, it's got little bubbles. 

Eating umibudo is an experience in itself that I would definitely recommend if you visit Okinawa, especially if you profess to be a foodie. Those little bubbles pop in your mouth, quite like popping candies, just smaller and saltier. In fact, it felt like little pops of sea in your mouth! It was quite a fun dish and actually refreshing to the palette.

I think this is another version of Okinawan tofu. The texture is a lot grainer but I loved it and thought that it paired really well with the bit of peanut sesame sauce. Having said that, I was the only one who liked this though. My parents put it aside just after a mouthful. 

And the highlight of lunch! The Agu pork!

Sorry I have no photos of the actual hotpot meal. Like I said earlier, "food gets the best of me". I completely forgot and the only reason why I even got a picture of the Agu pork was because mom wanted to send a picture of it to my brother who wasn't able to join us on this trip. 

So the shabu-shabu set also comes with local Okinawan vegetables and noodles. And as if they were afraid that you ain't going to be full, they throw in some really awesome meat dumplings. The pork was beautifully marbled and just yums. By the time we were done with the vegetables as well, the broth was just superbly delicious! The portions were really huge though and as much as we stuffed ourselves, we really couldn't finish the noodles at all.

In case it's your first time having shabu-shabu, fret not. The shabu-shabu set comes with a piece of instructions and even if you don't understand the words, the accompanying picture visuals make up for it. 

Loved the food, enjoyed the great scenery. Good food equals good mood and we left Ufuya really satisfied and happy. If money isn't a concern, I strongly recommend putting Ufuya on your itinerary. 

Tourist Information

Ufuya

Website: http://ufuya.com/
Address: 90 Nakayama, Nago City, Okinawa, 905-0004

DID: +81 980-53-0280

Reservations highly recommended. Book online via their website.