Hotel Ocean in Naha, Okinawa has a buffet with the world’s best selection of Okinawan cuisine!
Located along Okinawa’s most famous shopping street, Kokusai-dori, you’ll find Hotel Ocean. With a buffet regarded as having “the world’s best selection of Okinawan cuisine,” if you were planning on trying the local grub, this is a stop you won’t want to pass up. Keep reading to hear all about the fabulous lunch buffet experience I had there.
Hotel Ocean’s buffet is located in the Sky Lounge on the 12th floor. The weather was just outstanding, the view of the city simply exquisite.
A lunch menu so impressive your jaw may drop
The selection of Okinawan dishes—most of which were even made with local ingredients—certainly lived up to the hype. But there was also a wide variety of western and Japanese dishes, as well as dessert!
If you’ve never tried taimo, a type of Okinawan taro root, this is your chance! Deep-fried taimo are a great snack to go along with your favourite alcoholic beverage.
Do you like salad but want to try something new? How about giving one of Hotel Ocean’s unique Okinawa-style dressings a taste. I suggest the shikuwasa (a famous citrus fruit the islands are known for) dressing or the island chili pepper dressing.
Fresh island vegetables can be enjoyed in a salad or as shabu-shabu. It’s up to you!
Just look at that roast beef! There were a variety of different sauces available including A1 sauce, which is the favourite of many Okinawans. A1 is a popular steak sauce from England.
Got kids? You’ll be happy to learn there’s even a corner with child and baby-friendly options.
★I recommend at least trying the following★
Behold, my first serving. In Okinawa white miso is the fave, and this one had pork in it, too.
Starting from the upper left, going clockwise: Thinly sliced pig's ear, bitter greens dressed with tofu, white sesame, and white miso, island vegetable salad, curry, spam & eggs, taco meat, and roast beef.
When you start to get thirsty, I suggest stopping by the juicer to make your own original juice.
How extravagant! With all the insoluble fiber removed, you're left with a glass of smooth, tasty juice.
You should be able to find your favourite beverage on the menu of the two fancy coffee machines.
But don’t head straight for the coffee machine just yet, there's all-you-can-drink awamori, too. Awamori is a distilled alcoholic beverage from Okinawa with a 600-year history! It’s definitely worth a try if you haven’t already.
Onwards, to the Okinawa soba corner, I went. You can choose from four different varieties, including the award-winning noodles of Tamaya!
These are the famous Tamaya noodles. The toppings, however, you can decide for yourself.
Last but not least, the dessert corner!
Choose from ice cream, cake, and fruit, or create your own parfait.
I left extremely satisfied, and I didn’t even have room to try everything they had to offer. Hotel Ocean’s buffet is a great place for tourists to try all sorts of Okinawan cuisine without having to restaurant hop.
Hotel Ocean - A breakfast buffet like no other and a great place to stay!
Hotel Ocean’s dedication to variety doesn’t stop at food. You can also pick your favourite shampoo from a selection of over 200 kinds and choose your own pillow. There’s free drinks in the lobby, rental parasols, and rental bikes, too. This is the kind of service that you actually might want to write home about!
And if breakfast is more your thing, they offer a breakfast buffet as well with over 100 dishes! I highly recommend Hotel Ocean for their outstanding service and Okinawan cuisine to anyone planning to visit the island.
Basic information on Hotel Ocean
- Address
- 2-4-8 Asato, Naha City, Okinawa
- Access
- 3-min walk from the Okinawa Monorail’s Makishi Station
- Tel.
- 098-863-2288
- Buffet Location
- 12F Sky Lounge
- Breakfast Buffet Hours
- 6:30-10:00
- Breakfast Buffet Price
- Adult 1,500 yen, Child (6-12 years) 750 yen, Child (Under 6) Free
- Lunch Buffet Hours
- 11:30-14:30
- Lunch Buffet Price
- Adult 1,700 yen, Child (6-12 years) 800 yen, Child (Under 6) Free
- URL (English)
- http://www.hotelocean.okinawa/
Author
Birth place: Chiba prefecture
draftbeerman
Japanese blogger managing numerous blogs about beer, lunch, travel, and more!