How to survive the hot summer in Okinawa? There is no truth except eating ice cream!

In a southern country like Okinawa, in summer, in addition to watching the sea, fish, corals, and girls in bikinis and brothers with small abs, the most important thing is to cool down! Especially after the heavy work every day, after a day of physical exertion, I stumbled back home and suddenly saw advertisements for various ices. I suddenly felt that there was hope in life. I walked into the store and took out an ice cream. The moment I put spoonfuls into my mouth, the sugary and cool feeling slid down my esophagus, and a series of chemical reactions went through my body. The word happiness was written into my brain at once, and I felt that the whole world could be... Forgiven!
  
One of the reasons why I fell in love with Okinawa is that there is endless ice here. Every day is different, which makes me feel the sweet malice of this society!
  


Picture 1 is dedicated to Japan’s Haagen-Dazs

Now that we have mentioned Haagen-Dazs, we Just follow what Haagen-Dazs said. When I first came here, I didn’t have any obsession with Haagen-Dazs. I always felt that since it was available in China, why would I need to eat the American brand when I came to Japan? And one day I met a young man with a great figure in a bar. He said that his hobby is to eat a piece of Haagen-Dazs every day because he is an employee of Haagen-Dazs. Moreover, he said that Japan’s Haagen-Dazs is the most delicious Haagen-Dazs in the world because the milk used is the best. At that time, I didn’t think much of it, until one day I thought of giving it a try, and I accidentally fell into Riha’s trap.
  
Let’s talk about the conclusion first. Japan’s Haagen-Dazs is exactly the same as the Japanese, with various restrictions and the addition of many local elements. It will definitely break your perception of big-brand standardized products, and the price is very reasonable. One serving is about 270 yen.
  


This is the first one I have eaten in Japan. Gansha (a type of orange from Seto Inland Sea, Japan) has a very light sweetness, and the sourness and aroma of citrus are particularly soft



The black tea aroma and white peach tart flavor is that you can actually taste the biscuit tart at the bottom. The slight astringency of the black tea and the fragrance of the peach match perfectly



Then this one It has a very typical Japanese green tea taste, much less sweet than I expected, and not greasy at all. Fried chicken nuggets on the side are a daily ritual for me. Because the chicken nuggets in Japanese convenience stores are so delicious! ! Before I came to Japan, I would never take the initiative to buy fried chicken nuggets. . .
  


The next one can be regarded as Japan’s national treasure Haagen-Dazs, with cherry blossoms, red beans and glutinous rice skin, a typical Japanese style



Sakura flavor The inside of Haagen-Dazs, the super elastic glutinous rice skin under the cherry blossom sauce



I also highly recommend the one below! The flavor of "Black Molasses Soybean Flour" full of Okinawa's characteristics starts with a light milky taste, and the sweetness of brown sugar gradually begins. When you dig it into the ground, it becomes as dark as honey. The sweetness escalates, and at the bottom it becomes... Real soy flour. The one next to it is Godiva’s strawberry ice cream with heart-shaped chocolates inside. No one can refuse this kind of romance. . .
  
After talking about Haagen-Dazs, let’s talk about some civilian brands. For Japanese people, spending 270 yen to buy such a mini cup of ice cream is quite luxurious, while more affordable ones are generally less than 200 yen, or the same price but with a larger capacityLocal brands.
  
LOTTE Cool Series
This series is really cool. Unlike the sweet series of Haagen-Dazs, their series is refreshing. ! Specifically, let’s talk about a “cool” method.
  


Peach flavor, with solid white peach and yellow peach pulp inside, and not the texture of ice cream, but finely crushed ice particles, very summer



Raspberry vanilla flavor, the raspberry part is also sour ice particles



Smoothie-type ice cream rich in pulp



As autumn approaches, this pear-filled version is now on the market. Remember, pears in Okinawa cost 400 yen each!
  
Okinawa specialty/Limited ice and Miyakojima snow salt ice



I believe this is the one that many people will notice when they come to Okinawa for the first time. There are several of them on Kokusai-dori.



Their specialty is the snow salt produced in Miyako Island, which means that they bought the salt and sold ice cream. You can choose between cones and cups for their ice cream, and the biggest feature is that you can sprinkle the delicious cream with various flavors of sea salt prepared by the store. I personally recommend that you must try the black sesame sea salt and hibiscus sea salt.

Meiji Okinawa Limited



Although Meiji is a Japanese national milk brand, the purple sweet potato flavored ice cream is exclusive to Okinawa and is the most Okinawan flavor. Because purple sweet potatoes are not grown in mainland Japan, purple sweet potatoes from Okinawa cannot be brought to mainland Japan by plane.



Meiji produces a "southern dessert" with acerola flavor. Acerola is native to South America and was brought back by immigrants from Okinawa. Therefore, it is also known as an Okinawa specialty in Japan, including various acerola flavored beverages.

Blue Seal



Blue Seal is the largest local ice cream chain in Okinawa. It was first brought here by Americans. Later, it continued to grow and develop in Okinawa and became one of the representative brands of Okinawa. The various handbags and T-shirts produced by them have also become Okinawa style figures. There are several representative flavors, such as Okinawa lime, purple potato, tropical passion fruit, etc.

Okinawa Red Bean Brown Sugar Ice

Okinawa has developed as an important sugar product production base since the late 19th century. When mentioning brown sugar in Japan, no one does not think of Okinawa. Therefore, red bean ice is very common in Japan, but brown sugar red bean ice is full of Okinawa's southern characteristics. You can eat brown sugar red bean ice in the streets and alleys of Okinawa, and different flavors have been developed on the basic version, such as condensed milk, matcha syrup, strawberry jam, etc.


At first glance, it's just a pile of crushed ice, but as you dig deeper, you'll find the sweetness buried at the bottom. You can eat it at Nilaikanai Shokudo in Heiwa-dori near Kokusai-dori, 350 yen per serving


Matcha flavor


Strawberry flavor. Both of these can be found in the large cafeteria on the second floor of Naha Shintoshin Main Place.

Okinawa local popsicles



Okinawa lime flavor. Okinawa's specialty lime runs through all aspects of Ryukyu cuisine. Even bars in Okinawa use local limes to make various drinks, not to mention the popsicles we eat every day. This should be the most popular ice cream, and it costs only about 100 yen per serving.

Other ice creams that are not produced in Okinawa and taste great.


Frozen oranges... Haha, this can also be eaten as a dessert... Yes, you have found a new way to eat oranges!


Lawson convenience store's own Uji Matcha chocolate crispy ice cream, still emphasizes that the sweetness of Japanese Matcha is very restrained! This is the real taste of tea


Hokkaido condensed milk strawberry ice cream tastes just like the strawberry condensed milk I ate when I was a kid. Hokkaido dairy products are especially famous.


Mint chocolate ice cream is the most summery ice cream. Every convenience store is filled with mint ice cream.


Lawson’s own peach popsicles have real peach flavor because peach juice is added!



Fruit ices one by one. This series is to make fruit puree into frost and then make it into balls, and put them into your mouth one by one, which is full of fun.

Then, in addition to these, I have actually tasted various kinds of ices in Okinawa. It is no exaggeration to say that every day is different! My summer in Okinawa is really a life given by ice. Welcome everyone to come to Okinawa to taste these different sweets when you have the opportunity. But I still remind everyone not to change to sugar addiction, haha, it is said that sugar is more addictive than marijuana, please be cautious, don't become a thin addict like me!