Our good friends, the Wheelers (links to their blogs at right), finally were able to take us to their favorite yakitoriya (restaurant that specializes grilled meat on a stick) in Ginowan, near their abode. It was super yummy & we're very happy that we were with them, because it was not designed for we illiterate types. We wouldn't have found it, for one thing, being pretty much a nondescript place on a fairly crowded street (let's just say that we were happy to discover nearby parking). And we definitely wouldn't have been much for ordering, considering the menu had no English & no photos (gasp). We'd have been falling back on our trusty word, used in similar previous situations - "soba??" And this was NOT the place for that dish (although they probably had it, considering we were still in Okinawa).
Instead, we were privileged to sample some yummy chicken on a stick as well as onigiri (rice balls) wrapped in nori (seaweed paper) with mentaiko (for Masayo & Josh) & miso (for Betsy & Aaron) & a few other delicious dishes. But one of the highlights was what at first appeared to be simply a small grilled fish on a stick. It was, however, not just any fish, but a PREGNANT fish on a stick. The belly full of fishy eggs had cooked together into a solid form (reminiscent of a hard-boiled chicken egg yolk... kind of sort of). Both Betsy & I were slightly unsure what we were in for as we were told about this particular dish, but we both ended up quite liking it. And each fish disappeared completely into our very happy bellies!
And while the service wasn't super quick (a small price to pay for well-prepared food, right?) we only ended up canceling one dish when we decided to move on to the Wheeler pad. And we're still not sure how in the world the final bill ended up only being 750 yen per person. But we sure did get our money's worth!
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