Chapter 999: Tofu No Higa (とうふの比嘉)

Tofu No Higa (とうふの比嘉), I noticed this sign when I was coming back from the cave. So that night I did some online research and saw it was a small tofu restaurant on a dirt road that seems to be quite popular for locals. They are opened at 6:30am- 3:00pm and I read that if you go later they might have sold out all their lovely fresh tofu! My boat ride to the yaeyama islands wasn’t until 8-ish but I had to check in at the reception by 7:55 which meant I had plenty of time to get here and eat some nice breakfast. I walked about 35 mins from the hotel and some roads were pitch black and I could barely see anything. At one point I was using my torch app on my phone. It got a bit muddy as it had been raining all night. The dirt road was extremely soggy and my shoes were crying.

When I arrived I was about 10 mins early. The lady told me to wait as they were preparing. There was already 1 family waiting and 1 other man. At 6:30 on the dot the lady came back and told me to sit anywhere. I opted to try their famous dish, Yushi Tofu Set (ゆし豆腐セット) in size S since I know myself quite well. I pretend to be an early bird and usually it means my stomach can not eat a lot in the early mornings. Usually I have an appetite after 10. My food came quickly. The set was only 350 yen which came with a bowl of rice, a side dish of pickles, and the best soya milk I’ve ever tasted!! There’s sauces and herbs on the side so you can just help yourself. I love tofu so much. Yushi tofu is famous in Ishigaki and I just couldn’t get away without trying some.

The tofu is extremely silky, soft and fluffy. It’s quite subtle in flavour like most tofu but very rich. They added some chopped up pieces of spring opinions on top and actually this taste amazing with some of their homemade miso paste. The back of the kitchen is the factory, apparently you can choose to opt for a Tofu Making Session which is 2-3 hours per session for a fee. But I didn’t have much time on this day but would have loved to enjoy a tofu making lesson.

Overall, the food is fresh and so so so delicious. I can’t get enough of eating tofu. Oh and the seating area is semi-outside with wooden tables. There’s also a big shelf full of books. They also sell some small souvenirs on the side. It is cash only and it’s so cheap!! If I had a bigger stomach I would have loved to try the お年寄りゆし豆腐セット – The elderly yushi tofu set because it would had come with an おかゆ – rice porridge/congee instead of a bowl of rice and 卵焼き- an omelet for the same price as a small Yushi Tofu Set. I enjoyed my breakfast very very much would definitely recommend coming here for a good breakfast especially if you love tofu!!

—Tofu