Goya -Bitter Melon- Okinawa’s Local Specialty


 

[W:Okinawa] is one of the best summer resort destinations in Japan. Beautiful blue ocean and white sand beach… the sound of sanshin (three string musical instrument). In the islands, time flows slowly.

 

Beach in Miyako-jima

Beach in Miyako-jima. (C)Hiromu

 

 

 

Because of the environment and the history of the islands, Okinawa has many different foods from the other parts of Japan. One of its specialties is goya, which is called bitter melon in English.

This is a goya. It’s really bitter.

 

goya

"kagawa_ysk" some rights reserved. flickr

 

 

It is said that goya is the secret of longevity in Okinawa where it has the longest life span in the country.

It’s often stir-fried with egg, tofu and pork.

 

goya

"jetalone" some rights reserved. flickr

 

 

In Okinawa, you can se this bitter melon in various forms, such as;

“Goya Hero”

goya

"amadeusrecord" some rights reserved. flickr

 

 

“Goya Beer”

goya

"geraldfigal" some rights reserved. flickr

 

 

“Goya Bench”

goya

"geraldfigal" some rights reserved. flickr

 

 

“Goya with Snoopy”

goya

"Nemo's great uncle" some rights reserved. flickr

 

 

If you weren’t told they are goya, you would go “what???” lol.

 

 

This is JAPAN Style!

 

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