Fresh Tofu Breakfast, Ishigaki, Japan

Our morning began with a beautiful rainbow promising a good day ahead. Once everyone was up and dressed, we headed out to a restaurant on our list of things to try. It was definitely off the beaten track. We had to go down a gravel/dirt road to get to it and it was in the middle of farmland.

The restaurant, Tofu Higa, specialized in fresh tofu. It is actually a tofu factory that specializes in Okinawan Yushi-tofu. It is processed fresh right there and is a fluffy version of tofu unlike the hard packed cubes you see in the grocery. Behind the building are fields of soy.


They make the tofu fresh each day and the restaurant serves meals until the tofu runs out. There are recipes online for making Yushi-tofu which is basically just the tofu being scooped out of the water after it has coagulated instead of being packed tightly into a container. Tofu is made from soy beans ground and cooked in water. An ingredient called nigari is added that makes it coagulate into curds. The nigari is a magnesium chloride extract from sea salt. The curds are scooped out and the remaining liquid is strained to produce soy milk.

Tofu kitchen

We arrived to find a long line of people waiting to get into the restaurant area which consisted of a covered patio (although one review said there is also an indoor area where you can dine). Our daughter-in-law checked and found out that they would probably run out of tofu before we could get in so we opted for plan B--find a restaurant near Kabira Bay which is where we wanted to spend the day.

Tofu breakfast

When we did return the next morning much earlier, we still waited a bit but we enjoyed a breakfast of tofu, rice, an egg omelet accompanied by a couple of slices of pickled radish and a glass of warm soy milk. There were several condiments including miso, a local pepper, hot sauce and a few other things I didn't recognize entirely. The tofu was soft but had little taste aside from the condiments you added. I liked the texture better than the pressed tofu that you usually see. It was a very filling breakfast.


But I digress. Once we realized we weren't going to eat at Tofu Higa, we got back in the van and drove toward Kabira Bay. There was a restaurant nearby that featured the Ishigaki soba noodles that I had read about. On mainland Japan soba noodles are usually made from buckwheat. On Ishigaki, they make their noodles with flour. They are a little more chewy.

Soba noodle breakfast

So, our breakfast turned out to be soba noodles in broth with several chunks of tender tasty pork belly on top of it. I wouldn't have thought to have it for breakfast but it tasted really good. The restaurant was also on the shoreline near the bay and it was a very pretty setting. I couldn't imagine how Kabira Bay could be any nicer.

Ishigaki, Japan - Dinner and Music

Our first dinner in Ishigaki was at a restaurant, Funakura no Sato, just around the corner from our Airbnb. We could have walked but we still had a misty rain to contend with. The restaurant was spread out with several venues in which to eat. We were led to one that had a long table for all of us to gather around. When you get into the real Japan, you will find that there are restaurants that have the low traditional Zashiki seating.

When you arrive, you take off your shoes and step onto the tatami floor. The table is surrounded with mats to sit on. Most Japanese either kneel around the table or sit with their legs bent or crossed beneath them. Now we Westerners have some trouble with this especially if we have knee replacements. My sweet daughter-in-law made sure each time we were faced with this type of seating that there was a very short chair that I could sit in. It helped tremendously.

After being in several of these situations, I noticed that the attendants would make sure that our shoes were pointing away from the tatami floor so that when we left all we had to do was slip into them. I might mention that if you are planning to visit Japan, you might want to get a pair of shoes that are easy to get off and on as you will undoubtedly encounter many occasions where you will need to remove your shoes. All of the places we stayed asked for shoes to be removed as well,

Our meal was was a variety of Okinawan dishes including the sea grape seaweed that I had read about. It was a little like putting pop candy in your mouth.

As we were finishing our meal, a man stepped up to a raised platform and began to sing and play some traditional Okinawan songs. Here's a bit of what it sounded like.

Japan Visit -- Start With Sushi

The good news--our bid to upgrade our flight to Tokyo was accepted. The bad news--our credit card company wouldn't let the charge go through because it thought it was fraudulent. We lost the upgrade. The good news--when Bob went to check in, an upgrade was offered for $50 less than what we'd bid. Yay!

Our flight from Toronto to Tokyo was in Air Canada premium economy. It was a cheap version of first class. Yes, there was more leg room but we were against the bulkhead which meant we couldn't stow anything under a seat. And we were in the middle section of seats. The odd thing was people who wanted to get from one aisle to the other would step over our feet to cross to the other side. Thankfully it didn't happen too often. My only other complaint was that the bathroom was really bad. The toilet bowl looked ancient and corroded. (Turned out it wasn't any better on the return flight even though it was a different plane.)

When you are traveling to see grandkids you haven't seen in a year, all of the discomfort takes a back seat to the anticipation of being with them. We were due to meet up in Tokyo on the day after our arrival as they arrived from Sapporo. Our son met us at the Haneda airport and we all traveled to our hotel, the Shinagawa Prince. We had stayed there once before when we came to Tokyo for his wedding.

We decided on sushi for dinner and our son who has lived in Tokyo for four years now knew a great place. It was a tiny little restaurant but very nice and I regret not remembering the name. I'll blame it on jet lag. The sushi arrived in several courses, each more beautifully presented than the previous. It was artistry as well as pure delight in taste. I even ate part of my oyster which was the largest I've ever seen and was said to come from Hokkaido. My favorite was the eel that was flavored with a Japanese BBQ sauce. I was sorry there was only one piece of it.

Dessert was a small scoop of ice cream sprinkled with green tea and accompanied by a spoonful of fruit.

It was probably the most expensive meal we've had in a long time though: $400 for the three of us. Hard to complain when the experience and the food was absolutely topnotch. What a great start to our trip.

We went straight back to our hotel after dinner and climbed into bed hoping our body clocks would readjust quickly.

Ishigaki For Foodies

Knowing our son who has become quite a foodie since moving to Tokyo and traveling the world I've tried to get a little heads-up before our trip to Ishigaki, said to be a haven for foodies. On our very first trip to Japan years ago when he got married in Sapporo, our daughter-in-law's father who has quite a sense of humor, took the eleven of us Americans to a soba restaurant and sat across the room from all of  so he could watch how we ate the soba. Now soba comes in a broth usually and it is most politely eaten by slurping. He wanted to see if we could do it. I still remember his smile.

Soba noodles, unlike udon noodles, are made from buckwheat and are thinner. Usually they are served either cold with a dipping sauce or in hot broth. They are wonderful either way. When we get to Ishigaki however, they make their noodles a bit differently. The Yaeyama soba, made from flour, is a little like Ramen and is served in a sweeter broth than the buckwheat soba usually is. The broth and noodles are topped with thin sliced pork, fish cakes and green onions. Locals are said to spice it up a bit with some of their own spices and peppers.

We have had several versions of seaweed, a staple in Japan, but have never had what is called sea grapes. Now this sound interesting. The seaweed grows only in warm waters and the leaves are like little bubbles resembling clusters of small grapes.

I'm a lover of pork. Unfortunately the more delicious fat the better. I love pork belly and when my mother would make a "fresh ham" as she called it, my brother and I would fight over the crispy fat skin. Another on my list of must tries is rafute, Okinawan pork ribs. They sound delicious. Rafute is made from skin on pork sweetened and spiced before stewing and is tender enough to pull apart with chopsticks.

Of course the number one thing my son commented on was the Ishigaki beef. I'm sure we will be tasting that.

If you are intrigued and curious, here is a site I found with many of the local dishes described. Okay, I'm hungry.

Stretching Your Palate

Having a son who lives in Japan with his family and is married to a Japanese lady who grew up in Japan, we have been challenged many times to try new foods. Most of the time it works out well. When I saw a list of 13 things you really need to try in Japan, I wondered if they had introduced us to all of them. We need to go visit again. I think there are a few we haven't had yet.

Mention sushi and a lot of people will wrinkle their nose and shake their head or they will order California rolls. They've never tasted the true wonders of sushi or shashimi. Yes, there is raw fish involved but until you have tasted salmon or whitefish that is truly fresh and made correctly with the right seasonings, you cannot imagine the wonderful buttery taste.

Yakatori is a favorite. It's often chicken (sometimes chicken parts) on a stick and is an amazing treat. There are other meats that get grilled on a stick and are tender and wonderful with great seasonings.

There are lots of dishes that I would never have tried if we had visited on our own. Restaurants specialize in things like shabu shabu and okonomiyaki (one of our grandkids favorites). Shabu shabu is served with hot pots of broth and you cook your meats and vegetables in them--quickly because the meats are sliced thin, and then dip them in different sauces.

Okonomiyaki is like a pancake that is cooked on a hot griddle in the middle of your table. When we went to the restaurant, our grandkids (even the littlest) took turns cooking the pancakes. You order the different ingredients that you want and then make your own pancakes.

There are many foods that I see my son trying while he is there. I shake my head in wonder. He was my picky eater. It just proves that you don't know if you'll like it unless you try it. But if you're going to try it, make sure it is authentic. Tokyo is a great place to find any kind of restaurant you might want whether Japanese or not. Just remember that a Mexican or American restaurant may not be quite the same as you are used to back home. It's like trying to find good authentic Japanese food in America.

Here's the link to the 13 Japanese Snacks list. The writer suggests taking a tour with guide who will help you through the taste testing--that's if you don't have the privilege of family members to guide you.

Tokyo - The Food

Sukiyaki on left. Lemon sauce on right.

Eating in Japan is always an adventure. From slurping noodles to cooking your own food in a pot or on a griddle you can be sure some of the enjoyment is in the preparation and execution of consuming your meal.

There are hundreds, maybe thousands, of little restaurants in Tokyo. They are squeezed into little nooks and crannies or on a second floor above a store. My son has an app that helps him decide which restaurant to choose. He doesn't rely on TripAdvisor as heavily as we do. We would decide on what type of food to eat and with a few clicks he'd find the best place to get it nearest our location.

We enjoyed rice bowls with meats and sauces, yakitori, bowls of ramen noodles in broth with mushrooms and veggies, shabu shabu and sukiyaki, bento boxes, sushi, and Big Macs. Oh, that last one was with the grandkids only. After all they were born in the states and still like a taste of home.

Here's a list of some of the types of food you can get in Japan and what it is:

Our youngest granddaughter cooking her
own Sukiyaki.

Rice bowls - usually served with a meat topping that can be beef, chicken or pork and has a light sauce over the rice and all in one bowl.

Yakitori - think kabobs. It is chicken meat and/or chicken parts on a stick. I've seen everything from breast meat to chicken feet, liver and crispy skin. My granddaughter loves the crispy skin. It's really flavorful.

Ramen - noodles usually served in a broth but it can be served cold on a plate with sauce for dipping. On a cold day I prefer the hot broth but this last time I tried the cold noodles with the dipping sauce and really enjoyed that as much or more. The hot broth often has vegetables and some meat in it and some dishes are served with an egg cracked on top of it.

An unusual cheese plate included
tomato, peach, caramel and kiwi cheese. Yum!

Shabu shabu - we had this at the request of my husband. He loves the hot pot cooking. The restaurant we chose had several sauces to cook in. Our daughter-in-law ordered three different ones for our two pots that were divided in half so you had two sauces in one pot. The pots were placed on a center burner (kind of like going to a fondue restaurant) and the sauces heated to boiling. Paper thin slices of meat are dipped into the hot pot until cooked to taste. Vegetables are also put in the pots and picked out as they finish cooking. Did I mention it's all cooked with chopsticks? The other unique feature of this restaurant was that it was all you could eat but you had to finish within 90 minutes.

Many restaurants are set up for you to cook at the table.

Sukiyaki - This was also done in the hot pots but the sauce is unique. It's soy, dashi (a flaked fish spice), sugar and sake. When you cook your meat or vegetable in the sauce you dip it in a beaten raw egg before eating it. The egg cooks around the hot meat and gives it a nice smooth flavor.

Bento box - these we had when we visited the onsen. A bento box is like a tray with dividers and into each cubicle is something different. Always one with rice and then the others are filled with vegetables, fancy bean dumplings, thin sliced pickled lotus, and all sorts of delicacies. Some recognizable, some not.

Sushi - this is usually thought of as a roll of rice with a chunk of fish and vegetables in the center all held together with a skin of seaweed. It's not always the case. Sometimes the fish can be resting on top of an oblong cube of rice but it always has some rice with it as opposed to sashimi which is just slices of raw fish. We had some tuna at the sushi restaurant that was so tender it was like biting through butter. I don't like all the raw fish offerings but several do appeal to me. The sushi restaurant we were in had a conveyor belt that took the offerings past your table and you chose what you wanted. They charged by the plate, from $1 for the white plate to $5 for the brown checkered plate. At the end all the empty plates are added up for your bill.

No need to tell you what the Big Mac is but it does seem to have some popularity in Japan as does Starbucks.