Otherwise, things seem to be progressing as smoothly as can be. The house is slowly emptying, although most of the big stuff isn't going to it's new homes until this weekend, and the last of the pet visits is on Friday before they fly out on Monday. Yikes!

Last week I managed to squeeze in a new haircut and dye, and I spur of the moment made the decision to get a fringe again. I'm still not sure i'm completely happy with the decision, but oh well! Melbourne weather is much more suited to fringes, so only one more week to try and wrangle it in this humidity.

Last saturday night I also managed to get in one last dinner with my favourite Okinawa ladies, Ashley and Katie at Yomitan Monogatari. That place, as always was delicious, and ended with an awamori tasting flight, fitting for Okinawa.

These ladies <3

Sea Grape and perilla somen noodles at Monogatari

Awamori tasting flight at Monogatari

Meanwhile, let me rant for a moment. The process to cancel your phone contract here is so ridiculous. When I first signed up for my phone, I paired it with our internet contract as well for a discount. Twice now I have gone in to the au shop to ask about cancellation. The first time they were too busy and told me to come back later, however for the internet cancellation I could only do it over the phone. However, for the phone contract, you must go to a store to cancel it.... sigh.

So I went back to the au store this past weekend. Someone finally had the time to help me, only for me to find out that if I go in to the store to cancel my contract, it takes effect IMMEDIATELY! There's no way to cancel in advance, and no other way to cancel than in store.... This wouldn't be such a hassle, except for the fact that I need my phone until the very last day in case of any issues with our pets flights etc. My only option is to try and cancel my contract while we are on a stop in Narita. Fingers crossed it's not too busy to get served.

Anyway, this blog has turned into a moving rant. I promise in the next 2 weeks it will be back to more informative posts. On that note, if you have any suggestions for a new blog title, please let me know. It seems weird to have a blog called Sea Change Okinawa when I'm not actually living in Okinawa.

American Village Chatan

The cat is starting to notice all her sleeping spots are slowly dissapearing

Dechibica is probably my favourite and first place I will usually take any vegans visiting us. Not only is the food delicious, but it's presented so beautifully, it's hard not to be impressed.

They offer a variety of vegan meals (as well as a couple of non-vegan options) and everything we've ever tried there has been great! Another bonus if you're with kids, is the fact that they have a bunch of kids toys there to entertain them if you forgot to bring anything from home.

Update - I've heard GubGubs is now closed but the owner can still be found selling burgers at the Koza Vegan Night market and the vegan food fest.

GubGub's is the ultimate vegan junk/comfort food experience. We have been here with vegan friends numerous times and they are always blown away by the food! Their Cheeseburger and BBQ burgers are my ultimate favourites. They also offer an option to pay a little more and support animal welfare, and you can bring your dogs and sit outside if the weather is nice.

Ukishima Garden is a lovely vegan restaurant in Naha, perfect for a fancy date night with organic wines. We have been here every time we have been to Naha and it's always lovely. Their tofu caprese salad tastes just like real mozzarella, and the creamy pasta was also amazing. Their lunch menu is more casual with burgers, soups and curry.

Bollywood Dreams is the most delicious Indian resaturant we have found in Okinawa (and we've tried lots!). They also have a select number of vegan curries, which are amazing! The dinner menu is more extensive and lunch is mostly just set meals. This place gets BUSY, so it's worth coming early for lunch or dinner.

Ok, so Sakae Ryoriten is the place we keep going back to, and pretty much take all guests to. It's "okinawan style" food, so a great way to get a taste of the local cuisine, but they will also adjust the menu for any allergies or dietary requirements where they can, which means making food vegan and vegetarian friendly. It's also very kid friendly.

The go-to dishes they will adjust for vegetarians is the Umibudo (sea grape) and tomato salad, the jimami dofu (peanut tofu), the seasonal stir fry vegetables and the eggplant and red pepper with miso stir fry. They might likely adjust other dishes, but these are our go to every time we're there.

Sakae is located in Ishikawa and they have ample parking space in a lot across the road. The entrance is quite unassuming (pictured above).

What would a post about vegan food be without mentioning the vegan menu at Coco Ichibanya? Coco's, over the past year or so have been rolling out a vegetarian menu at select stores. It says vegetarian but is actually vegan. In Okinawa only 2 stores that I know of have the vegetarian menu, Ishikawa and Haebaru. Please feel free to comment if there are any more additions to this. Cocos, although i'm sure is full of MSG, is super delicious!