Day 3 – 29 April 2025, Tuesday
Today, KP will be joining us in Okinawa and our travel party will finally be complete. He had to delay his arrival because of a work trip so he missed the last two days of fun. We made arrangements for him to meet us directly at Itoman Michi-no-Eki, right after landing at Naha Airport. After a light breakfast, the four of us (IH, PL, ZY and me) left our apartment on an Uber car at 8:30am and reached our destination 20 minutes later. The Uber ride cost 3,700 yen (S$34.33). It was quite expensive but it was the most convenient way to get there because the Yui Monorail does not extend to Itoman.
Itoman Michi-no-Eki translates to Roadside Station Itoman, referring to roadside stations in Japan that are popular for travellers to stop and rest, learn about the local area, and purchase regional products. It is also known as Itoman Fishing Cooperative Fish Center, or Itoman Fish Center for short. It comprises of three facilities – the Fish Center, which sells freshly caught seafood and other food products that can be purchased and eaten on the spot; Umanchu Plaza or farmer’s market, which sells fresh produce like vegetables, fruits and other items at low prices; and Yukura, which sells local products and souvenirs, and also has restaurants.
The Fish Center opens at 9:00am so we were one of the first customers to arrive. We came here specially to satisfy PL’s desire of eating lots of sashimi on this trip. Actually, all of us love sashimi so we were all looking forward to feasting on it. The air-conditioned building has about 10 stalls selling the freshest sashimi and seafood. As we walked down the row of shops, we were spoilt for choice as each stall offered tons of raw tuna, oysters, scallops, octopus, salmon and cooked seafood like unagi and king crab at affordable prices. We eventually bought a selection of food to share, and three bowls of cooked vinegared rice as well.
PL went for the good stuff – Toro, which is the prized fatty meat of tuna. We bought a box of Ōtoro (大トロ, big toro) and Chūtoro (中トロ, medium toro) for 5,000 yen (S$46) and 2,500 yen (S$23) respectively. Ōtoro is the fattiest part of the tuna cut from the belly area just behind the head. It is so expensive because of its limited quantity – Ōtoro is only about one-fifth of a whole toro. Chūtoro is medium fatty tuna cut from the belly to the back, so it is more plentiful and less expensive, a perfect balance of quality and price.
However, when you consider that the two boxes of Ōtoro and Chūtoro contained only 10 slices each, it is still pretty expensive. But for the quality and freshness (straight from the source), it is definitely worth it and cheaper than eating it back in Singapore. The toro lived up to expectations. The Ōtoro was really exquisite; you can taste the richness and sweetness even without dipping it in the light soy sauce and wasabi. The Chūtoro was not as melt-in-your-mouth as the Ōtoro but it was still excellent.
After the satisfying breakfast (never too odd to have sashimi for breakfast when you’re in Japan!), we visited the Yukura and farmer’s market for a look. The farmer’s market was particularly busy with scores of locals doing their morning marketing. A quick glance at the prices showed that the produce was really quite cheap – a big ball of lettuce costs only 118 yen (S$1.10).
At 10:55am, we left Itoman Fish Center for our next destination – Okinawa Outlet Mall Ashibinaa. I initially didn’t intend to make a trip to Ashibinaa but since it is so near Itoman Fish Center, I thought we should just swing by for a short visit. With a party of five now, we needed a large Uber car but we didn’t manage to book one so we got two separate cars. The ride took less than 5 minutes and the fare was 800 yen (S$7.42) for one car.
Ashibinaa (click here) is an outlet mall with about 100 stores and restaurants. It is not part of the Simon group of premium outlets in other places like Tokyo (Gotemba), Malaysia (Johor, Genting Highlands) or the United States, so its overall branding and appearance looks different from the other outlet malls I have visited. The brands here are quite good though, with the usual suspects like Adidas, Levi’s, New Balance, Asics and some local brands like ABC Mart and Beams.
We spent about two hours shopping at Ashibinaa. I bought a small Coach handbag for mum as a Mother’s Day present because there was a good 60% + additional 25% discount. And it came with tax free shopping as well, with the tax refund processed on the spot. The only thing I bought for myself was a Godiva chocolate ice-cream cone (650 yen/S$6), a perfect treat for the scorching weather. It was a sunny and cloudless day, 23 degrees C outside. The others were more successful in their shopping exploits, buying sports shoes from Adidas and clothes from Banana Republic.
At 1:10pm, we booked two Uber cars to go back to our apartment. The ride took 25 minutes and the fare was 2,900 yen (S$26.90) for one car. We let KP settle down and rest for a while since he just arrived in Okinawa after a red eye flight. At 2:20pm, we headed out again and walked towards Higashimachi, where Street Kart Okinawa is located. We found a nondescript restaurant nearby to have our lunch. I ordered the pork cutlet curry rice, which was not the best but it was perfectly decent, especially since it cost only 800 yen ($7.36).
The shop for Street Kart Okinawa (click here) was located just around the corner from the restaurant. IH had joined this street karting experience during his last visit to Okinawa two years ago and he highly recommended it, so we all decided to do it too. I have seen these go-karts zipping down the streets of Tokyo many times in the past and I’ve always wanted to try it, so I was very excited about this activity.
We booked the two-hour tour (O-M Course) and chose the timeslot from 4:00pm to 6:00pm because it is not so hot at this time, and it’s also just before sunset, which is around 7:00pm. The other timeslots are 10:00am, 1:00pm and 7:00pm. The two-hour tour costs 6,500 yen + 500 yen for insurance, or about S$68 in total per person.
To drive the street kart, you’ll need to possess an International Driving Permit (IDP), so this is something you’ll need to apply in your home country before leaving for Japan. We obtained our IDPs through the Automobile Association of Singapore. The IDP costs S$20 and it is valid for one year from the date of issue. You must remember to bring both your physical IDP and passport to the shop to register. If you fail to do so, you won’t be allowed to drive the street kart.
After checking in at 3:30pm, we were given a safety briefing in the form of watching a video clip, which provided instructions on how to operate the go-kart safely and learning about hand signals used by the guide. Once we were done with the necessary admin stuff, it was time for fun – choosing our costumes to dress up for the tour! I initially didn’t want to wear a costume because it was a hot day but I changed my mind after a little persuasion. Might as well go all out and get the full experience!
I chose an Ultraman costume while IH dressed up as Slowpoke (a Pokémon character), KP as Doraemon and ZY as Sonic the Hedgehog. PL did not dress up (Boring! Nah, he’s too cool for that). By the way, they don’t provide Disney or Super Mario costumes because of copyright issues. The tour experience is also not called Mario Kart for the same reason. Hence, it is called Street Kart.
Our guide for the tour was a friendly chap named Damo. He’s originally from New Zealand but he has been living in Okinawa for many years. He looks intimidating with his huge biceps but he’s a gentle giant at heart. After hopping into our go-karts, we switched on the engines and the vehicles roared to life, emitting a strong smell of diesel. I was initially a little nervous because I had not driven a real car for more than a year. My previous go-karting experience in Batam was also not very fun because my go-kart had faulty brakes. As I drove cautiously out of the premises and lined up by the side of the road, my heart was pumping fast but filled with excitement. Once everybody was in position, we were off at 4:08pm. Zoom zoom!
For the first part of the tour, I stayed directly behind Damo but the five of us switched positions later. The ride was very bumpy and noisy and it felt strange to be so low on the road. The go-kart has a speed limit of 60km/h but with the wind in our faces, it felt like we were driving much faster than that (I think we were). I was very cautious about maintaining a safe braking distance and didn’t dare to press the accelerator too hard at first, but I soon got the hang of it and became more confident as we went along.
There was a lot of starting and stopping at first because of traffic lights but once we got further away from the city centre, it became more enjoyable as we could drive faster and for longer distances without stopping. When we hit the freeway towards Naha Airport, Damo really let it rip and he sped away in a burst of speed. I stepped hard on my accelerator to keep up with him, and experienced a thrill like never before. It was super shiok to cruise down the road with the wind and evening sun against my face. I guess this is what it feels like to drive a convertible, albeit a bumpier and noisier version.
At about 4:50pm, we arrived at Senaga Island and got off the kart to spend about 20 minutes here. IH described Senaga Island as the “Santorini of Okinawa” because of its chill vibes and numerous cafes offering stellar ocean and sunset views. It was a beautiful day for sure, with blue skies and wispy clouds accompanied by the frequent sight of airplanes approaching the airport nearby for landing.
The drive out of Senaga Island was slow as the road leading out of the island had only one lane in each direction. After that, it was back towards the city centre and the traffic got heavier and the traffic light stops became more frequent. But that meant more photo opportunities as Damo helped us to take photos at the traffic stops. As a result, we had lots of photos by the end of the tour, which Damo later sent to us for free via AirDrop.
The last part of the tour had us driving through Kokusai-dori. We were undoubtedly the centre of attention as many curious onlookers gawked at our go-karts, or maybe they were amused by our fancy costumes. We gamely posed for them as they snapped away, and we felt like celebrities for once.
At 6:05pm, we arrived back at the shop and our street karting adventure came to an end. Damo edited the nicer photos using the Snapseed app on his mobile phone and printed them out for us, so we had nice keepsakes from the tour. We also pasted our group photo on the wall in the shop, alongside those left behind by hundreds of other guests. IH tried to find his photo from two years ago but couldn’t locate it. Hopefully ours will still be around for some time.
After bidding Damo farewell, we walked from Street Kart Okinawa’s shop to our dinner venue, Jinsei Sakaba, about 1km away. IH discovered this restaurant on Tik Tok and it looked quite cool, so he made a reservation for 7:00pm. According to IH, many of these popular restaurants require advance booking and pre-payment of 500 yen per person as a reservation fee. This fee is non-refundable and it is not deductible from the total bill. It is pretty hefty for a group of five but if you don’t reserve in advance, you most likely won’t be able to get a table if you just walk in.
Like Mekiki no Ginji (where we had dinner on our first night), Jinsei Sakaba is another Instagram-worthy restaurant, with its eye-catching façade made up of tiny wooden window frames adorned with Kanji and Korean characters. The ceiling of its interior is filled with fake cherry blossom flowers, giving the feeling of being at a hanami party.
In fact, Jinsei Sakaba is not a Japanese restaurant, but a Korean izakaya serving authentic Korean food. We ordered a variety of dishes to share – fried rice, fried chicken platter with melted cheese, pancakes, a bowl of soup and ice-cold beers. The bill amounted to 12,980 yen (S$120). The food was pretty decent, but I think people go to this restaurant more for the ambience than the food.
We finished dinner at 8:00pm and walked back to our apartment, but not before dropping by Kokusai-dori for another scoop of Blue Seal ice-cream and FamilyMart to stock up on sandwiches. We were back at our apartment at 9:05pm and proceeded to pack our luggage as we would be leaving Naha tomorrow morning for Nago.
Of course, the night wouldn’t be complete without playing Bridge. We played till midnight before heading to bed. The last game was particularly epic as it was like 無間道 (Infernal Affairs) – everyone was confused who IH’s partner was until it was revealed at the last moment. Nights like these are super fun, and what I treasure the most – just chilling, laughing and enjoying each other’s company in a completely relaxed setting.
Overall, it was a great day in Okinawa. We had some nice sashimi at Itoman Fish Center in the morning and an exhilarating time go-karting around Naha. We were so blessed with beautiful weather today. It would have been horrid if rained, because the go-kart offered no protection from the elements and the water from the road would have splashed onto our faces and costumes. That wouldn’t have been fun. Let’s hope for more good weather for the next five days!