Last week, when I had a day to myself, I decided to find what is supposed to be the best ramen in Okinawa. The place is Hachiren Ramen inYomitan, and it didn't dissapoint. I got there early at about 11:30, and there was already a line-up to get a table. You have to order and pay for your ramen using the machine outside, and be sure to write your name on the waitlist so you will get called when a table is ready. They offer tsukumen and ramen, and even though it was a scorching day, I opted for the spicy ramen. 

The inside of the restaurant is really small. There's only three low lying tables on tatami that would fit a maximum of four people around each, and then counter seating for about 8 people. I think if you come with a group bigger than 4 people, your only option would be counter seating, which I think would take quite a while to get unless you were the first ones there at opening time.

If you want a ramen fix and you're in Okinawa, I think this is the place to go! But hey, it's also the only ramen i've had in Okinawa, but I can say it definitely compares with the good stuff i've had on the mainland.

Last Friday I took a summer vacation day, the day before a typhoon was due to hit. It was gorgeous, warm and sunny so I headed straight to the beach for a morning swim.

I love Nabee beach in Onna. It's great at low or high tide, the water is always clear and nice and cool, unlike some of the other beaches that seem to get bathwater warm. Also, they have music playing over the loud speakers, and this particular day was a perfect selection of 90's hits (think The Sign by Ace of Base, Mr Vain by Culture Beat and Wannabe by Spice Girls).

Just down the road from our place is a market place that has a fruit and vegetable market, tons of Japanese food stalls, souvenirs and even a french bakery. It's a great place to take visitors because there's a lot to see, and I love that all the fruit and vegetables they sell is only what is currently in season, which at the moment, is mangoes and dragon fruit! The have the cheapest mangoes I have seen so far in Okinawa. In Australia you can get mangoes as cheap as $1 each, usually around $2, however, over here, they're more like $6 each! Today I managed to find some for $2.50 each so I finally bit the bullet and bought one. I hope they live up to the hype.

http://onnanoeki.com/