This time I came to Okinoerabu Island in Okinawa. Apart from watching cats and eating seafood, there was a "scouting" mission, which was to try one of the two most famous tempura shops here: Nakamoto Tempura Shop.

The shop is really very plain, and the sign isn't very noticeable. If it weren't for a bit of a crowd at the entrance, I might have accidentally missed it. The prices are quite friendly, with most tempura items falling between 120 to 170 yen, making it easy to try out. However, when I visited this time, I was actually already full, so I just bought a few items to taste.

I ordered sweet potato and purple sweet potato balls, and both performed quite well. The outer layer was crispy, while the inside remained soft, with a naturally sweet taste that wasn't overwhelming. The sweet potato had a nice fragrant sweetness. The purple sweet potato also had a sweet flavor but the outer layer was a bit darker, making it look like it might have been fried too long or the oil was darker. However, it didn't have any off taste when eating it.

Additionally, I ordered something a bit special - fried seaweed. Although it had a faint salty taste, the overall texture was rather empty, and there wasn't any obvious aroma or chewiness. Since it was my first time trying it, I also wasn't sure what standards to use for judging it. I later looked it up, and it turns out nori is a type of algae. I think trying it once is fine, but there’s no need to specifically seek it out again.

Overall, Nakamoto Tempura Shop is a place that you can conveniently "check out" when visiting Okinoerabu Island. The flavors are quite standard, with a few items that are good and a few that are just worth trying once.