Naha, A Private Izakaya Evening.

The day.

• First stop

  Your fish, your way

  Collected from your accommodation, the evening opens with a small glass of ukon, the turmeric Okinawans drink before a night out. Then Makishi Public Market. You choose your fish from the day’s catch, the freshest on the island, and it goes straight to the kitchen. Choose how it is prepared. Sashimi. Okinawan batta yaki, pan fried in butter, a habit the island picked up in the postwar years. Fried with salt. Or simmered gently in miso. Alongside it comes goya champuru, bitter melon stir fried with island tofu, egg and pork. Champuru means mixed together, and the dish is found in nearly every Okinawan home.

• Second stop

  The standing bar

  A standing izakaya, loud and warm, where locals stop after work and stay longer than they planned. Kushiyaki come off the charcoal one after another: vegetables, meat and seafood on skewers, grilled to order. Then something seared. Aburi means touched with flame, the surface crisped and caramelised while the inside stays soft. Here it is aburi mentaiko, spiced cod roe warmed until it just turns, or aburi tebichi, Okinawan pork trotter simmered for hours until tender, then seared until the skin crackles.

• Third stop

  A surprise

  The third stop stays a secret. It is a dish Okinawans have shared for generations at celebrations and gatherings, one said to restore strength, and one most visitors never find. Your guide will tell you what it is once you have tasted it.

• Fourth stop

  The taste of the sea

  The evening ends slowly, at an izakaya known for one of the finest awamori collections in Naha. The last dishes taste most of the sea. Umi budō, sea grapes, that burst softly like tiny pearls. Mozuku, fine seaweed from the island’s shallows, dressed in light vinegar. Okinawa grows almost all of Japan’s mozuku. Then sukugarasu tofu, tiny salted fish laid on cool island tofu, a pairing that has fed Okinawan families for generations. To close, a nightcap of awamori chosen from the shelves, or a fresh glass of shikwasa, the small, sharp citrus of the north, to clear the palate. Then the ride home.

The practical bits.