Sukiya Noborikawa

If you haven't been to Okinawa for a few years then you might be surprised by Sukiya's massive expansion into the local restaurant market. I don't remember seeing any Sukiya gyudon shops back in the early 2000's, but the popular eateries seem to be everywhere now. Sukiya is a 24 hour restaurant serving primarily gyudon and traditional Japanese fish, curry and hamburger dishes. The name of the restaurant is a play on the word "suki" which means like combined with "ya" which means shop; and it might also be short for sukiyaki which the trademark Sukiya gyudon dishes have a similar taste to.The restaurant's have a drive through window but for me the food is best enjoyed in the seating area within. Gyudon is available in six different sizes and with about a dozen different toppings. The food is served very quickly after ordering, usually in no longer than four minutes. Look for Sukiya's trademark logo of a red bowl on a yellow background with "Sukiya" on it in both Japanese and English. Sukiya is priced very competitively to bento shops and offers indoor seating which most bento box stores do not.