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ОглавлениеIntroduction
Welcome to Okinawa and the Ryukyus
Although it is said that Japan (日本; Nihon or Nippon, literally “sun’s origin” but usually translated as “land of the rising sun”) is an island nation, it’s perhaps more accurate to describe it as a nation of islands for, depending on who’s counting, there are anywhere from 3,000 to 6,852 of them. The first figure, although an approximation, is widely agreed upon by most encyclopedias and reference manuals. It includes islands that are at least 0.039 square miles (0.1 square kilometer) in size. The larger number of 6,852 is published by the Japan Maritime Public Relations Center and includes all islands that have at least 330 feet (100 meters) of shoreline. Obviously, that latter figure would include virtually every rock, isle and islet in the Japanese Archipelago. More useful perhaps is the often-cited number of inhabited islands. That number is 426.
From north to south, Japan’s four main islands are Hokkaido (北海道; Hokkaidō, lit. “North Sea Circuit,” circuit being a mostly archaic political subdivision); Honshu (本州; Honshū, meaning “Main State”), where the capital Tokyo is located; Shikoku (四国; Shikoku, meaning “Four Provinces”) and Kyushu (九州; Kyūshū; “Nine Provinces”).
Honshu is the largest of Japan’s islands, Hokkaido the second largest, then Kyushu, then Shikoku. In total, Japan has about 18,645 miles (30,000 kilometers) of shoreline. Since, ultimately, it is an archipelago of islands, it has no land boundaries with any other country. Its northern shores on Hokkaido face the Russian Sea of Okhotsk and its eastern shores front the Pacific Ocean. Most of the country’s west faces the Sea of Japan and its southwest looks to the East China Sea.
Ranked by size, Japan is the 61st largest country on earth. Its area is 145,920 square miles (377,930 square kilometers), a bit larger than Germany and somewhat similar in overall shape and size (a little smaller) than the US state of California. Together, the four main islands, often called the Japanese “homeland” or “mainland,” account for 97 percent of Japan’s total land area.
Thus, thousands of small, very small and really, really small islands constitute the remaining 3 percent of Japan’s territory. These islands are located at all points of the compass surrounding Japan, but one group in particular runs along a more or less north–south line from the southern end of the Japanese mainland to Taiwan. There are several hundreds of these islands and they are known as the Ryukyus—the subject of this book.
We use several names in English to describe these islands, and our use of some of the terms differs from the meaning the Japanese ascribe to them. Most commonly we call the group of islands between Kyushu, the southernmost of Japan’s big four islands, and the Republic of China, otherwise known as Taiwan and historically as Formosa, the Ryukyus (琉球; Ryūkyū). We also refer to the entire chain as the Ryukyu Islands (琉球諸島; Ryūkyū-shotō) and sometimes we say the Ryukyu Archipelago (琉球列島; Ryūkyū-Rettō).
However, the Japanese do not use these terms in the same sense as we do. They collectively refer to the island chain as the Nansei Shoto (南西諸島; Nansei-shotō), literally “Southwest Islands.” Or sometimes they’ll say Amami-Okinawa Chiho (奄美沖縛地方; Amami-Okinawa Chihō), which means Amami-Okinawa Region and has the same meaning as Southwest Islands. A term almost never used in the sense that we use it is Ryukyu (琉球; Ryūkyū). Rather, they say Okinawa (沖絹; Okinawa), which is considered a synonym, whereas we use that word just for the one main island. Whichever term the Japanese may use, they in turn divide the geographic term Ryukyu into two political subdivisions: Kagoshima Prefecture (鹿児島県; Kagoshima-ken) for the northern half of this island chain and Okinawa Prefecture (沖縛県; Okinawa-ken) for the southern half.
In other words, in the West when we use the term Ryukyu, it’s in a geographic sense for the whole chain of islands. The Japanese equivalent of our sense of that term is Nansei Shoto. When the Japanese say the Ryukyus, they mean only the southern half of the islands, the modern political subdivision of Okinawa Prefecture. Occasionally, if they use the now historical term Ryukyu Retto, they are referring to what was once the territory of the former Okinawan kingdom, which includes most, but not all, of the archipelago—the Amami Islands, Okinawa Islands, Miyako Islands and Yaeyama Islands.
On the following pages, we use the terms Ryukyu Retto, Ryukyu Shoto, Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu Group, Ryukyu Archipelago, Nansei Shoto, Nansei Islands, Southwest Islands and Southwest Group interchangeably. We’ll start at the top, in the north, and work our way down to the southernmost islands next to Taiwan. We’ll visit the entire archipelago, going from one group of islands to the next, exploring each island, one by one, as we go.
The Ryukyu chain starts just below Kyushu, the southernmost large island of mainland Japan. Kyushu holds, among others, the cities of Fukuoka (福岡市; Fukuoka-shi), Nagasaki (長崎市; Nagasaki-shi) and Kagoshima (鹿児島市; Kagoshima-shi).
Kagoshima City is the capital of Kagoshima Prefecture, which is close to where Kyushu Island terminates. It’s an important place because it is the Japanese mainland’s hub of ferry traffic to all the islands to the south. From here, one takes ferries to the relatively close islands of the Ōsumi and Tokara chains, plus it’s the departure and arrival points of ferries to the more distant Amami Islands and Okinawa. It’s a city of about 600,000 people and famous for its multitude of hot springs resorts.
Starting at Kagoshima, near Kyushu’s southern end, the land cleaves most dramatically into two long pincer arms. The western fork is the Satsuma Peninsula (薩摩半島; Satsuma-hantō). The longer eastern arm is the Ōsumi Peninsula (大隅半島; Ōsumihantō). The Ōsumi Peninsula’s extreme final tip is Cape Sata (佐多岬; Sata-misaki), the southernmost point of mainland Japan. Within the fork is an extraordinary deep water inlet and natural harbor, Kagoshima Bay (鹿児島湾; Kagoshima-wan), which is also widely known as Kinkō Bay (錦江湾; Kinkō-wan), where Kagoshima City is located. The city is known as the “Naples of the East” and is, in fact, a sister city to Naples. Like its Italian counterpart, a gorgeous bay overlooked by volcanic Mt Vesuvius, Kagoshima also enjoys a spectacular vista. Upon the clear, blue waters of its bay floats a great volcano, Sakurajima (桜島; Sakura-jima).
One of the most active volcanoes in Japan, if not the world, Sakurajima has had a number of violent and destructive eruptions in its history. Its 1914 eruption was the most powerful in 20th-century Japan. Its activity commenced again in 1955 and it has more or less been erupting ever since. Thousands of small explosions occur every year and not a day goes by that residents and visitors do not experience a minor earthquake or witness a rising smoke plume, volcanic ash or some other pyroclastic display. In fact, the continual emission of volcanic ash is a real annoyance to the people who live there. Cars must be continually washed, windows cannot be left open and hanging laundry must be rushed into the house. Most people carry an umbrella not for rain but for ash.
Kagoshima Harbor, mainland Japan’s jumping-off point for the Ryukyus.
Forming an island (but now connected by a land bridge) and rising 3,665 feet (1,117 meters) above sea level, Sakurajima is one of Japan’s major tourist attractions. It forms one part of Kirishima-Yaku National Park (霧島 屋久国立公園; Kirishima-Yaku Kokuritsu Kōen), Japan’s first national park. The other sections of this disconnected park are the ancient Sugi forests on the island of Yakushima; the land’s end at Cape Sata, and the 23 volcanic peaks of Kirishima (霧島市; Kirishima-shi) about 19 miles (30 kilometers) and less than an hour to the north. The two tallest peaks in the Kirishima Mountain range, 5,577-feet (1,700-meter) Mt Karakuni (韓国岳; Karakuni-daké) and 5,164-feet (1,574-meter) Mt Takachiho (高千穂岳; Takachiho-daké), are the mythological origin of the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu (天照; Amaterasu) and the birthplace of Japan. You may have already seen the Kirishima Mountains. They were filmed as the volcano lair of Ernst Stavro Blofeld, the evil head of SPECTRE, in the 1967 James Bond movie You Only Live Twice.
Part of Kagoshima-ken is on the mainland and part of it spreads across the Satsunan Islands (薩南藷島; Satsunan-shotō), which constitute the northern half of the Ryukyus. The Satsunans include about 25 inhabited islands and extend southwards across the Ōsumi, Tokara and Amami chains for about 312 miles (500 kilometers), all the way to Okinawa. The southernmost Satsunan Island, and the southernmost island of Kagoshima Prefecture, is Yoron, which lies a mere 14 miles (22 kilometers) above Okinawa’s north-ernmost tip at Cape Hedo.
Where Kagoshima Prefecture ends, Japan’s southernmost prefecture of Okinawa begins. Okinawa Island, which is located just about in the middle of the Ryukyu chain, serves as the dividing line between the two prefectures. Okinawa-ken consists of the group of islands collectively called Ryukyu-shotō by the Japanese and includes more than 50 inhabited islands. Starting at the north and heading south, the prefecture begins just below Yoron Island at Okinawa main island (沖縛本島; Okinawa-hontō), the largest island landmass in the Ryukyu Archipelago. Okinawa is, in turn, surrounded by many lesser islands, including one lesser group of islands, the mini-archipelago of the Keramas.
Formerly an island in Kagoshima Bay, Sakurajima volcano attached itself to the mainland of Kyūshū in 1914 by a narrow isthmus when its lava flows connected it to the Ōsumi Peninsula. There’s a causeway on it now.
Cape Sata (Sata-misaki), mainland Japan’s southernmost point.
The southern Ryukyu chain is subdivided into several groups, including the Okinawa, Miyako and Yaeyama Islands. These island groups extend southwest from the main island of Okinawa more than 312 miles (500 kilometers) to the small island of Yonaguni, only 68 miles (110 kilometers) east of northern Taiwan. In addition, Okinawa Prefecture includes the geologically and geographically unrelated small archipelagos of the Daitō Islands, 219 miles (350 kilometers) to the east of Okinawa Island in the Pacific Ocean, and the Senkakus, a disputed, uninhabited group close to mainland China and above Taiwan.
Altogether, the Satsunan Islands of the northern half of the Ryukyus constitute about 966 square miles (2,503 square kilometers). The southern half of the Ryukyus, Okinawa-ken, is 879 square miles (2,276 square kilometers). It’s a bit difficult to make suitable comparisons when they’re this little, but the smallest state in the US is Rhode Island (not an island incidentally). Its total land area is 1,045 square miles (2,706 square kilometers). So we really are talking about a large number of very small islands in a small space.
We’ll first outline the islands in the Ryukyu Archipelago, including all the inhabited ones, from north to south, then discuss them in more depth in the chapters that follow.
THE RYUKYU ARCHIPELAGO
The Ryukyu Archipelago is a 684-mile (1,100-kilometer)-long chain of approximately 150 islands divided in two halves: the Satsunanshotō and the Ryukyu-shotō. The Satsunans are further divided into three lesser chains, the Ōsumi, Tokara and Amami Islands, while the Ryukyus are divided into five minor archipelagos, the Okinawa, Miyako, Yaeyama, Daito and Senkaku Island groups.
Every several minutes, ferries shuttle across Kagoshima Bay to Sakurajima volcano.
Satsunan Shoto
The northern half of the Ryukyus is part of Kagoshima Prefecture. The Satsunans include the three island groups of Ōsumi, Tokara and Amami.
Ryukyu Shoto
The southern half of the Ryukyu Island Archipelago, which constitutes Okinawa Prefecture, is usually divided into the three major north–south groups of Okinawa Shotō, the Miyakos and the Yaeyama Islands, plus the more distant Daitō and Senkaku Island groups.
Getting around
Many of the inhabited Ryukyus have airports, or at least an airstrip. For the northern group, the Satsunans, most air services originate from Kagoshima, although there are also some flights to and from Fukuoka. There is also occasional service to some islands from Osaka and Tokyo, but not much and not often. In the south, in the Ryukyu group, almost all air services start or end at Okinawa. Most local flights in the islands are handled by Japan Transocean Air (JTA) and its subsidiary Ryukyu Air Commuter (RAC), both owned by Japan Air Lines (JAL). All Nippon Airlines (ANA) also has several subsidiary carriers, including Air Next (AN) and Air Nippon (ANK), which offer flights from Naha out to a number of islands.
Other than from the hubs of Kagoshima and Naha, however, there is very limited (or no) air service from one island to another. In other words, if you wish to fly, for example, from Yoron-tō to Amami, you might have to fly first to Naha, then to Amami; or first to Naha, then to Kagoshima and then to Amami, or maybe even from Yoron to Naha, from there to Tokyo, then to Amami, direct or through Kagoshima. Similarly, flying from Tokyo to Ishigaki would usually mean flying from Tokyo to Naha, then taking a local flight to Ishigaki. In fact, because Ishigaki happens to be a particularly popular place, there are some direct flights to there from Tokyo but that’s not usually the case with most islands.
The “A” Line’s Akebono
Both the “A” and “Marix” Lines sail daily from Okinawa’s Naha and Motobu ports to the Amami Islands and on to Kagoshima on the Japanese mainland. As it takes twelve hours from Naha to reach Amami-Ōshima and then another twelve to reach Kagoshima, a total of four ships alternate on the route so that all islands are served twice daily, one from the north and one from the south. The service is 24/7/365 and only interrupted in the event of typhoons or other severe inclement weather.
Why Some Islands Are Uninhabited
Although many of the inhabited Ryukyu are very small, sometimes only 2–3 miles (4–5 kilometers) or less in diameter, they are for the most part arable and suitable for cultivation and habitation, although adequate fresh water supplies are always a challenge. In general, uninhabited islands are uninhabited for a reason: they are either too small, too lowlying, too rocky or possess no fresh water—or all of the above.
Traditional Okinawan Houses
A classic Okinawan house is usually encircled by a coral stone wall or fugaki trees for protection against winds and typhoon damage. It has a ceramic tiled roof often sporting a shīsā dog and is raised off the ground on stones for to guard against dampness and insects. It is surrounded by an overhanging roof supported by wooden pillars for shade protection from the sun and for air circulation. It’s a structure that’s been completely adapted over the centuries to perfectly fit into its environment.
The Shīsā Lion Dog (シーサー)
Symbol of Okinawa, good luck charm of the Ryukyu kingdom and defender of the home from evil spirits, shīsā originated in the early blend of Chinese and Ryukyuan cultures. They’re placed at the entrance of homes, shrines and graves and on rooftops. Often set in pairs, the one with the open mouth summons good fortune, the one with the closed mouth prevents its escape. Together they keep evil from coming into the house.
One thing that’s definitely not possible by air, unless you pilot or charter your own plane, is island hopping in a straight line from one island to another. For that, you’re going to have to get your feet wet, figuratively, not literally. In other words, to island hop, you’ll have to take an ocean cruise or, more precisely, one of the many sea ferry voyages that run throughout the Ryukyus.
Don’t worry, for this is no hardship and is indeed a great way to meet the people of the Ryukyus and discover their wonderful way of life. Although any sailing will take longer than an air flight, the opportunity to live life as the people who live here do will be un-surpassed and worth every minute of your time. One final consideration: in many cases, you’ve got no choice but to sail. There are no airports and thus no flights to many of the Ryukyu Islands. So, for example, if you wish to navigate and explore the Amazon of Japan, the Urauchi-gawa, the longest river in Okinawa, on Iriomotejima Island, then you’ll have to take a local ferry from Ishigaki. There’s simply no other way to get there.
Every day throughout the year in the Ryukyus there are scores of ships shuttling around from one island to another. Carrying `assengers and hauling vehicles and freight, the Japanese ferry service is the lifeline of the Nansei-shotō. Short distances, under an hour or two, are handled by local ferries. Generally, these are small ships, under 50–60 feet (15–20 meters) in length. For islands further than two, three or four hours sailing time from Kagoshima or Okinawa, larger ships of 330 feet (100 meters) and more, are used. As for the expense, naturally the longer the sailing distance, the more remote the island, the less frequent and more expensive the ferry service will be. Ferries are not inexpensive but they can sometimes be a good deal less than airfares to the same destinations.
As a very rough approximation of fares, a journey of an hour will cost around $10–$15. A longer trip of two hours will run to $25. A four–six hour sailing will set you back about $50–$75, and an overnight journey will cost around $100–$125. Halve those numbers for your bicycle, if you bring one. Figure about the same amount as the passenger fare for a motorcycle, and double those numbers for your car
Cafeteria on the ferry “Akebono.”
Welcome aboard an “A” Line ferry!
Larger ships used for longer sailings always have a cafeteria on board. By and large, the food is good and not unreasonably priced. For trips over twelve hours, more comfortable overnight accommodations are available—at a price. All the ships on the longer routes offer a variety of cabins: for two, for four and for eight. Private cabins generally have their own TV sitting area and more comfortable berths than the tatami mats, but of course the mats are free.
On all large ferries, you can always bring along your car or bike. That’s one good reason to take the ferry. However, because Japanese ferries are expensive, especially for vehicles, on longer trips it’s worth considering sailing without your vehicle (or flying) and then renting a car, scooter or bicycle once there. On all of Okinawa’s larger islands, you’ll find car rentals and usually bicycle rentals. Scooters are more problematic. Sometimes they’re available, sometimes not. And if available, the dealer may or may not want a motorcycle license from you.
Roads are often small but they’re usually well maintained and safe. Island traffic is always light. Driving in the Ryukyus, except for Okinawa main island, never poses the same challenges as it does in Tokyo. Finally, on larger islands, taxicabs are usually available and can always be hired by the hour or the day. But they’re never cheap. Count on 10,000 Yen (US $125) for a half day. And don’t forget to negotiate your fare before climbing in!
Passengers board an ANA Air Next flight at Ishigaki Airport.
The Ryukyus In Depth
We’ll start again in the north and work our way south, this time taking our time to discuss in more detail each island’s general characteristics, any special or unusual features and how to reach them. As the Ryukyu’s axis is generally north–south, the eastern shores of the islands greet the sun each morning, rising up out of the Pacific Ocean (太平洋; Taiheiyō), while their western shores see the sun set each evening into the East China Sea (東シナ海 or 東支那海; Higashi Shina Kai).
Recall that the Ryukyu Archipelago (琉球列島; Ryūkyū-rettō) or Southwest Islands (南西諸島; Nansei-shotō) is a 684-mile (1,100-kilometer)-long north to southwest arc of roughly 150 islands, approximately 75 of which are inhabited, divided in two halves: the Satsunan group (Satsunan-shotō) and the Ryukyu group (Ryukyu-shotō). Let’s get going!
Island Nomenclature
In English, a chain or cluster of islands is properly called an archipelago. It comes to us from the Greek arkhi (ἄρχι), meaning “chief,” and pélagos (πέλαγος) which means “the sea.” The term describes a group of islands. In Japanese, there are several words with the meaning of archipelago. Quite commonly used is shoto (諸島; shotō), which describes any group of islands. Also widely used is retto (列島; rettō), which again means a group of islands but has the added sense of a line or an arc of islands. Finally, a third term, gunto (群島; guntō), is used to describe a mixed or round cluster of islands.
As a practical matter, all three terms are used more or less interchangeably and, in fact, any discrete group or chain of islands may be collectively referred to as a shoto, retto or gunto. Notice that all three terms incorporate 島 as their second character. This Kanji character means “island” and is pronounced jima, shima or tō depending on usage and context.
Depending on how you count them, there are at least a half dozen minor archipelagos comprising the main great archipelago of the Ryukyus. Each minor group consists of three to five or ten or more inhabited islands, plus many more uninhabited isles and islets. The words jima, shima or tō are used to describe one individual island and are appended as a suffix to the island’s name. You’ll also see the characters 離島 from time to time. This means isolated or outlying island and is pronounced ritō. There’s also kotō, which means solitary island. Its characters are 孤島. Finally, on occasion, you’ll see 岩 at the end of an island’s name. This character is iwa and can be translated as “islet” but is more usually “rock.”
AWAMORI (泡盛)
Unique to the islands of Okinawa, Awamori is distilled, high-proof liquor similar to vodkas, rums and whiskeys, and is therefore much more powerful than fermented or brewed beverages such as beer, wine or saké. Made with long-grained Indica rice from Thailand, fermented with black koji yeast, then subject to a single-distillation process, Awamori is typically found in the 60–80 proof range (30–40 percent alcohol), although some are distilled as high as 120 (60 percent alcohol). High-quality Awamoris are aged in cool underground caves in clay pots. When aged for at least three years, Awamoris may be called kūsu (古酒; old liquor). Premium Awamoris can run into the hundreds of dollars for one container. Perhaps for this reason, the traditional Awamori drinking vessel is a tiny, thimble-sized cup called a saka-jiki. When properly served, Awamori is accompanied by a carafe of mineral water and some ice. It may be taken neat, on the rocks or diluted with a little water. A special version of Awamori is made by the addition of herbs, spices, honey and . . . a whole poisonous Habu pit viper! Thought to have medicinal, restorative or even some aphrodisiac properties, this version is called Habushu (ハブ酒) after the deadly Habu snake.
USEFUL JAPANESE ISLAND TERMS
north kita 北
south minami 南
east higashi 東
west nishi 西
great/large/big dai, ōkii 大
small ko, shō, chiisai 小
prefecture ken 県
park kōen 公園
garden teien 庭園
hot spring onsen 温泉
archipelago (many islands) shotō 諸島
archipelago (mixed/round) guntō 群島
archipelago (arc/straight line) rettō 列島
island shima, jima, tō 島
rock/islet iwa 岩
isolated (outlying) island ritō 離島
solitary island kotō 孤島
main island hontō 本島
mainland hondo 本土
offshore oki 沖
port/harbor minato, kō 港
cape misaki 岬
promontory/point zaki 崎
lighthouse tōdai 灯台
sea/ocean umi, kai 海
coast/shore kaigan 海岸
bay wan 湾
strait/channel kaikyō 海峡
beach hama 浜
river gawa, kawa 川
lake ko 湖
peninsula hantō 半島
hill oka 丘
mountain yama, zan, san 山
peak daké, také 岳
cave do 洞
valley dani, tani 谷
waterfall taki 滝
SAFETY AND COMFORT ON BOARD
Since there are thousands of islands in Japan every day, from Wakkanai, Hokkaido to Yonaguni-jima, there are hundreds of ships with tens of thousands of passengers at sea. How safe, and how comfortable, are the ferries?
First consideration: Safety. Japan’s passenger shipping industry is second to none in its safety record. It is subject to one of the world’s most rigorous inspection regimens and the fleet is regarded as one of the best maintained in the world. Nevertheless, there have been catastrophes. The last major disaster was in 1963. Then, the Midori Maru bound for Kumejima hit sudden squalls and unusually high seas and foundered on a sand island, an uninhabited outcropping in the Keramas. She went down and 112 lives were lost. Since that time, there have been no such disasters in the Ryukyus.
Second consideration: Comfort. Broadly speaking, there are three sizes of ships used for passenger ferry traffic: small, medium and large. Small ships, for trips under an hour, usually offer hard plastic seats both in the cabin and outdoors. It’s not very comfortable but at least the trip is short. Medium-sized ships, used for journeys that take 2–4 hours, generally have reclining airline-style seating, air-conditioning, restrooms and a snack bar. In addition, there is always outdoor space on top for better viewing or fresh air. On longer journeys of 5–20 hours or more, large ships will always have comfortable in-board seating, tatami-style resting accommodations, dining facilities and, at additional expense, private cabins, the most comfortable of all. But don’t worry. Most passengers sleep quite well in the tatami rooms. One important safety and comfort note: passengers are not allowed to sleep in their vehicles. There is the danger of poisoning from carbon monoxide gas or other fumes.
The Queen Coral getting underway for Yoron-to.
Typical passenger seating on board.
Clean and comfortable tatami-style sleeping/resting accommodations are available on longer voyages.
Long-distance ferries are big. Parking your car is like driving in a great covered parking lot or on an aircraft carrier.
Okinawa’s Bitter Melon
It’s been claimed to be a cure-all for just about everything that ails you: cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure. In fact, the bitter melon or bitter gourd has a remarkable combination of nutritional value and vita-mins. In Okinawa, where they are favored, they are called goya (ゴ—ヤ―). The Japanese word is nigauri (苦瓜) but in Japan everyone calls them goya too. Technically, the plant is Momordica charantia, a tropical and sub-tropical vine in the gourd family. Their nearest relations are squash, pumpkins, zucchini, watermelons, cucumbers, luffa plants and various melons. What makes goya stand out is that they are really, really bitter, almost inedible.
But that doesn’t stop the Okinawans from eating them. Known as the longest-lived people on earth, Okinawans claim that their longevity comes from their easygoing island lifestyle, happiness in family life and diet, which mostly comprises fish and vegetables. The goya is credited with all kinds of superlatives and believed to be about the most healthful food one can eat. Given its bitterness, the plant is prepared and eaten when it is young and freshly light green, even yellowish. As it gets older and darker, it is increasingly inedible.
The most popular Okinawan dish featuring the goya melon is called goya chanpuru (ゴ—ヤ―チヤンプル—). Chanpuru is Okinawan for “something mixed” and refers to the combination of ingredients stir fried in the dish as well as Okinawan culture as a whole. It’s not Japanese and it’s not Chinese. Rather, it’s a rich combination mixed up and only found in the Ryukyu Islands. Here’s a simple, favorite recipe for stir-fried goya.
A bitter gourd hanging from a vine.
A plate of stir-fried goya chanpuru.
Goya Chanpuru (Stir-fried Bitter Gourd)
Serves 2
1 Goya bitter melon
pinch of sea salt
5 oz (150 gm) pork back ribs or thinly sliced pork (Okinawans often use spam)
1 pack tofu
sesame oil
cooking liquor such as Okinawa awamori
1 cup (50 g) soybean sprouts (other vegetables can be added as well, such as small slices of onions, carrots, green peppers, and mushrooms)
soy sauce
instant bouillon (or dried bonito powder)
2 eggs, beaten
1. Slice the bitter gourd in half lengthwise and remove the seeds and pulp with a spoon. Then dice the halves about ½ inch (1.25 cm) thick. You’ll get many crescent-shaped pieces.
2. Mix the bitter gourd with a pinch of salt in a bowl and leave to stand for about 10 minutes. This removes much of the bitterness.
3. Cut the pork into bite-sized pieces.
4. Break the tofu with your fingers into bite-sized pieces and fry them in a pan with the sesame oil until they become brown. Then transfer them to a dish.
5. Fry the pork in the pan with the sesame oil and cooking liquor at low heat until it’s brown and crispy.
6. Put the bitter gourd back in the pan and fry with the pork at high heat.
7. When the bitter gourd wilts, add the tofu and soybean sprouts and more cooking liquor. Fry and mix well.
8. Season with soy sauce and bouillon (or dried bonito powder).
9. Add the beaten egg to the pan. Mix and cook all at low heat until the egg is half cooked.
