Brown Rice Milk from Ishigaki

Fifty years ago, when Shinjo Masao discovered his son wasn’t eating nor finishing his meals, the islander and his wife, fraught with worry, sought an alternative to nourish their nearly famished child. Out of such concern, Shinjo’s wife concocted a brown rice milk sweetened with the island’s brown sugar- recognized throughout Japan as some of the best sugar around. Packed with fiber, vitamins and nutrients, the taste catered to their young islander and word quickly spread throughout the neighborhood that the youngster’s health had rejuvenated.

Today, their son has grown up and Shinjo spends part of his island days instructing the willing on the virtues of the Shamisen while he and his family continue to produce their own unique brand of brown rice milk. With all locally produced ingredients, and only sold locally, you’ll fortunately have to be in Ishigaki to get one. And an early bird too, at 120 yen, the daily fresh 400 bottles (180ml) go fast.

Place: 5-7-3, Tonoshiro, Ishigaki, Okinawa. 09-8082-2340