While Tokyo is the crown jewel of travel to Japan, there’s plenty of places to travel outside the capital. And while we’ve enjoyed the sights and sounds of Osaka and Kyoto a few times, I finally had the chance to enjoy the warmer climates of Okinawa.
Of course, I did my research before my trip so that I’d have a list of places to go, food to eat, and things to buy. And, thanks to an abundance of time and a loose grasp of “traveling cheap”, I have a shortlist of things that everyone should buy in Okinawa.
Chinsuko
Chinsuko is a traditional sweet made in Okinawa that dates all the way back to the Ryukyu Kingdom. These cookies are made from wheat, sugar, salt, and lard, and have a unique light and crumbly texture with a flavor similar to shortbread.
Traditionally, chinsuko are made in long rectangular oval shapes with with jagged edges. Nowadays, you can find them not only in various shapes, but various flavors like sweet potato, chocolate chip and even cherry blossom (though the traditional version is still the most popular).
I found a shop that was selling boxes 3 for 1,000 JPY and you can even mix and match the flavors. I also found another place that sold boxes with three different flavors inside (salt, sweet potato, brown sugar) for 380 JPY. And another that sold limited edition cherry blossom ones (486 JPY). It’s definitely worth exploring different shops to see what you can find. They also make for great gifts since they’re individually wrapped and have a long shelf life.
Shisa
Shisa are a huge part of Okinawan culture. You will undoubtably notice their presence all over Okinawa at the entrances to homes, businesses, and shops, on rooftops, manhole covers, signs and of course in souvenir shops.
These lion-dog-like creatures are believed to protect against evil spirits. They are often seen in pairs, with one shisa having an open mouth and the other having a closed mouth. The open-mouthed shisa (male) wards off evil spirits, while the closed-mouthed one (female) keeps good spirits in.
Shisa can be found in many colors, shapes, and sizes at all different price points. You can find them on t-shirts, charms, snacks and of course statues. If you’re souvenir shopping, you’ll be hard pressed not to find something you want to take home. I had I really hard time choosing, but in the end I opted for an arched pair (1870 JPY) that I could only find in this one specialty shop, along with a pair of amulets (1,100 JPY each).
Of course I also had to pick up some edible shisa, which was actually pretty tough. Japanese snack have a tendency of being ridiculously cute and they always have displays showing you exactly whats the snacks look like, which truthfully makes it even harder to decide. In the end, I picked up a box of shisa pattern cookies (788 JPY), some shisa cup print cookies you can hang off your coffee cup (840 JPY) and my favorite… these beautiful shisa hibiscus sable cookies (1,685 JPY).
If you’ve got extra time on your hands and want something truly unique, I recommend trying out a shisa-making experience, like painting, ceramic art, or candle making. I came across more than a few places where you could choose and paint your own ceramic shisa and it looked like so much fun! Definitely on my list for next time.
Purple Sweet Potato Tarts
Beni-imo or purple sweet potato tarts are probably the most popular souvenir you should pick up in Okinawa. These sweet potato shaped tarts have a soft buttery crust with a dense sweet potato cream in the middle. They all come individually packaged making them a great snack to share or a perfect gift to bring back home. I picked up two boxes of six for 1,947 JPY.
If you have extra time in your itinerary, Okashigoten Onna houses a beni-imo tart factory where you can take a tour and actually watch the tarts being made fresh. Or if you want to take it a step further, you can take a tart making class and make your very own beni-imo tart! Definitely on my list for next time.
Kit Kats
Japan is notorious for their unique flavors of Kit Kats. In fact, Japan has released more than 300 limited-edition, seasonal and regional flavors of Kit Kats since 2000. As you might have guessed, Okinawa’s regional Kit Kat flavor is sweet potato! While I was inclined to get their signature “beni-imo” flavor, some other flavors caught my eye.
I found “Shinshu Apple”which is a regional Kit Kat flavor (900 JPY). The Shinshu region near Matsumoto is famous for its premium apples and this flavor does not disappoint. As soon as I opened the wrapper, I could immediately smell sweet apples and the flavor was just as strong (in the best way).
I also came across “Milk Tea” which is one of their limited-edition flavors (298 JPY). This was a no brainer because I adore anything and everything milk tea flavored. It literally smells and tastes like a cup of milk tea! Probably one of my favorite Kit Kats to date.
Pet Souvenirs
As luck would have it, Okinawans love their pets as much as we do. This means if you’re souvenir shopping for your fur baby back at home… they’ve got you covered. I was actually really surprised by how many shops sold pet goods. Some of the most popular items were these cute tropical button up shirts, but the real must have was a limited edition shisa t-shirt (2,750 JPY). They only had a handful in select stores, so if you see one in your pups size, definitely grab one.
They also sold a few different types of pet snacks that are made only in Okinawa and of course they are non other than sweet potato flavored. I highly recommend the sweet potato tart (330 JPY) and sweet potato rusks (693 JPY). The rusks come with a sweet potato powder that you shake into the bag. Our furbaby went absolutely nuts over them.
Tea
Tea is something the hubby and I always pick up in whatever country we visit. It actually is never intentional, but as it turns out, there are lots of amazing teas all over the world. Afternoon Tea Living is a shop that specializes in all things tea, from teabags and cookies to hand creams and tea sets.
I picked up a tea book with ceylon cinnamon tea and coco cinnamon & ginger tea (700 JPY) that is supposed to be great for helping me sleep. I also got a gift box with royal apple tea and cocoa sandwich cookies (1,400 JPY) for my hubby. And I couldn’t help myself from picking up a Darjeeling hand serum and multi balm set (1,800 JPY). It reminds me more of a wedding green tea, but either way it smells so incredible. Honestly, I had to stop myself from buying more things. This place is seriously every tea lovers dream.
Growlithe & Arcanine Merch
Did you know that Growlithe was designated as the official ambassadorial Pokémon for Okinawa? Due to it’s resemblance to the shisa, it was thought to be the perfect Pokémon promote the region and I couldn’t agree more! So what does that mean? It means you can come across a variety of Growlithe and Arcanine themed buses, manhole covers aka “Poké Lids” and a variety of souvenirs exclusive to Okinawa.
You can find these things all over Okinawa, but for me, the real must have item was a plushie of Pikachu riding an Arcanine (4,950 JPY) that you can only get at Pokémon Center Okinawa. The shop itself is not very big, but they do have a lot of other merch that’s exclusive to Japan like the Matcha Langue de Chat cookie tin (1,650 JPY) and the Paradise Dragona booster box (5,400 JPY). So if you’re a Pokémon fan, it’s definitely worth stopping by.
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