Japanese convenience store / 7-Eleven limited foods and drinks in Okinawa, Japan

Food and drinks from Okinawa 7-Eleven, 50 must-buys. Hi, I'm Samurai Junjiro, born and raised in Japan. In today's video, we'll be sharing some of the beloved items from 7-Eleven in Okinawa. We have narrowed down our choices to 15 including the region-limited items and drinks. We'll also cover Family Mart and Lawson exclusive goodies, so keep your eyes open until the last. Now, let's get started. The first item that we'll be talking about is of course one of the most popular items from 7-Eleven. And that is this Okinawa soba noodle from the very birthplace. Okinawa soba noodles uses noodles made from flour in which very similar to the ingredients of ramen. But the thickness and the texture are much on udon side. The soba noodle from 7-Eleven uses plenty of bonito flakes for its broth, so the fragrance is divine. The soup tastes richer than what it actually looks. The fat from the braised pork is dissolved in the soup for richer flavor. It comes with toppings like thinly sliced egg, braised pork, and red pickled ginger. The kick and texture from red pickled ginger is a nice change. The noodles are thick and chewy. It has absorbed the rich soup really well. Tastes pretty authentic to what you get in a restaurant. The next item is beer. This is the most consumed beer in Okinawa and it's called Orion beer. The market share is merely 1% in Japan as a whole, but 50% or more when looked at in Okinawa region. The beer uses Okinawan barley and the aroma is excellent. It tastes clean and smooth. Now we've talked about beer, let's talk about food that matches with it. Okinawan 7-Eleven serves perfect alcohol matching region cuisines in one person portion. One of them is this Goya Shampuru, which is stir-fried vegetables like bitter gourd, carrot, onion with tofu, pork, and egg. It smells nice from bonito flakes. The slight bitterness from the gourd is a nice kick too. Vegetables that absorb goodness from bonito flakes are crunchy and in great texture. Perfect with alcohol. The next item we are trying is another Okinawan food for one person. This is french fries with taco meat sauce and cheese baked in the oven. It has ingredients like red kidney beans and I love it. The meat sauce has slight spiciness and pairs perfectly with hot and crumbly fries. The cheese has melted and it's so creamy. It tastes bold and really has me emptying my glass. Our next item is a sparkling alcoholic beverage manufactured by the same company that produces Orion beer. The drink uses Okinawan citrus fruit called shikwasa harvested in the island. It smells so refreshing and citrusy. There is a slight bitterness but super fresh. Alcohol percentage is not too high so it's very mild. Let me take this time to talk about family mart goodies. This is onigiri made from not just plain white rice but juicy which is an Okinawan oriented food with rice cooked along with ingredients like pork, hijiki seaweed and kelp. Its price is cheap and very popular. This onigiri rice ball comes with a side of potato croquette. I'm loving this crispy texture from the outer crumbs. The potato inside is very flaky and I could sense natural sweetness. Juicy smells amazing from the ingredients it's cooked with. It's in this good volume and very filling. The rice has surely soaked up flavors from pork and kelp. Hijiki seaweed adds a nice touch too. Our next pick is a beloved Okinawan dessert. This is a sweet steamed bun with plenty of brown sugar as its main ingredient. I'm loving this sweet aroma from the brown sugar. The bun is very fluffy and moist. It's in this perfect touch of sweetness. I adore how it comes in a big size. There is a similar item in 7-11 that uses brown sugar too. This is a dessert bread with brown sugar cream sandwiched in the middle. The bread is an airy soft baguette. The cream has brown sugar bits and chocolate as well. The crumbling texture from the brown sugar is perfect. It's sweet and heavenly. We have picked up another favorite Okinawan onigiri of many. This onigiri has a slice of Spam and rolled egg in the middle. You can take a bite as it is but it's even better when heated in the microwave. The fat from the Spam will be absorbed to rice when heated and would taste richer that way. It's worth pointing it out that this onigiri has mixed tuna and mayonnaise as well. It's so creamy and the combination with Spam is absolutely spot-on. The rolled egg is very fluffy. You can also get onigiri without tuna and mayo too. Now on to talking about drinks. This brand called Byerly's has founded its roots and have stuck in Okinawa for more than 70 years. It originally served only in orange flavor but now offers in pineapple, guava, shikwasa and mango. Just by opening, I'm sensing the sweet aroma of mango. There's strong sweetness and it tastes bold. Let us share another drink favorite. This is Fanta, a beloved soda pop in Japan. Grape and orange flavors are regular but we are trying this shikwasa flavor. I'm catching the fresh citrusy scent. It tastes a little acidic but it's sweet and smooth. It's very fizzy but feels great down my throat. Now to pick up some items from Lawson. Let's try the most purchased fried chicken sold in Lawson. Karaage-kun but in Okinawa exclusive flavor. This karaage-kun has shikwasa juice added to its ingredient. When compared to the regular one, it tastes fruity and less meaty. The chicken is very tender and moist. It goes without saying that karaage-kun and beer goes awesome together. And now back talking about 7-11 items. This is ochazuke, simple dish of hot tea or broth poured over rice with various toppings. This ochazuke has Okinawan seaweed, cold asa and chopped plum bits. The soup is bonito flake based broth and it smells so good. Barley rice is included so that popping mouthfeel is a nice change. It comes with white baits and adds sweetness. Let's next try some ice cream. This is ice cream from a very famous ice cream maker, Blue Seal. This is biscuits made with chocolate powder with vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between. The vanilla ice cream is made with Okinawan milk and it's moderately sweet with refreshing finishes. The biscuits are very moist. The aroma of chocolate and the bitterness are perfect. You can also get chocolate and cheese ice cream version other than vanilla. Now to trying out Sampincha. This is a tea rooted in Okinawan life. Fragrance of jasmine is added to green tea leaves. The tea smells slightly floral but there is some bitterness to it too. We are trying this alcoholic beverage next. This is a mixture of Zampa, a type of Awamori that is famous and yet very strong Okinawan liquor mixed with carbonated water. This is a new product which just came out this April. It's clean and tastes more on dry sides. It has high alcohol percentage but it's smooth since it's mixed with soda. The next item we are going to be exploring is this Yushi Dofu Soba, a soba noodle with very delicate soft tofu. You can prepare this easily with microwave. First, you place your noodles and tofu in a bowl. Once you've added the soup, add hot water and put the lid on. And heat for 3 minutes in the microwave. Last but not least, you add the pickled red ginger and it's served. Bonito flake broth is smelling fantastic. Trying out from a sip of soup first. The soup is on a perfect saltiness and tastes very hearty. Tofu is so soft and moist. You can really taste the rich soybean flavor. The noodles are quite thick. It tastes more rich than it looks. Simple and yet quite addictive. And to wrap this video up, we'll be trying this at last. This is barbecue bowl with Okinawa raised pork. The rice and the topping are separated so you'd want to assemble it together before you try a bite. It uses butter for its sweet aroma. The pork belly definitely adds the nice fat. The sweetness from onion and cabbage are really brought out too. Let's try with rice. The sauce of butter and soy sauce are transferred to rice for perfection. Juicy pork and rice really goes together. 7-Eleven in Okinawa really does a great job in serving amazing region food. If there's a restaurant you'd like me to introduce, let me know in the comments. Please like and subscribe to my channel too. Well, that's it for today. See you in the next video.