Okinawa Forums

It seemed that when my friend took me out to eat on the island, that in some cases it was cheaper to eat out than to buy, prepare, and cook food in your own home. While this seems counterintuitive here in the States, it seems more possible in Naha, and Okinawa city. Am I off here, or did my friend just know where to go?

Places we ate
Mossburger
McDonald's
Burger King
Taco King
ANA Hotel, near the airport
Chili's Too, at Kadena Air Base
A Hawaiian place near the marina
We almost ate at a gyro place near the sea wall, but it was closed on Mondays
We ate at a Benihana type place - Japanese steakhouse

Wow, it looks like you enjoyed quite a variety of the restaurants that Okinawa has to offer. I don't think those places seem very cheap though! When I read the first line of your post, I was thinking something completely different. I haven't been to that gyro place either! I always see it and want to try it, but I haven't had the chance.

Anyway, I'd say all those places are more expensive than eating Japanese food at home, but there are a lot of Japanese style restaurants shokudo that offer food for very low prices. Maybe 200 yen for a bowl of soba or something. These places are at least as cheap as the food I make at home, but I can probably get more variety and a healthier diet by cooking at home.

The fast food places I ate at (I forgot A&W Root Beer) seened to be really expensive, all the more so since the portions were smaller.

As a for instance on the prices:

At the ANA hotel in Narita, I ate at the Cafe on the first floor.

Water, Pepsi (free refills), a large bowl of rice with a kind of sliced breaded chicken on top, with some vegetables on top of that, some ornamental pickles, GREAT miso soup, a salad, and I think a fortune cookie.

1500 Yen

Seemed a great price to me.