Habuya Okinawan Dining

Although Japanese cuisine has a common core of dishes that are found all throughout the island nation, every region and prefecture proudly specializes in certain items that either can’t be found elsewhere in the country or are widely identified by place of origin – “Kobe beef” was a historic and internationally known example. As the most southern and western island – and smallest – in Japan, Okinawa has its own distinctive identity, and Tustin’s Habuya Okinawan Dining allows you to experience its cuisine in a small izakaya-style setting.

From concept to execution, we’ve found Habuya to be completely fascinating. From Okinawa’s slimy, noodle-like Mozuku seaweed and salty miniature vines of sea grapes to stewed pig’s feet soba noodle soup, Habuya’s sometimes wild, sometimes rurally inspired, sometimes low-end riffs on well-established Japanese dishes provide windows into how the less populated island sources ingredients and adapts recipes that might otherwise have seemed locked in place.