MariCar

A few days ago I posted this photo on one of my social media accounts.

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A few comments populated wondering if this experience was "for real" or not. I can assure you it is. And, I can testify - IT'S A MUST when you visit Okinawa.

In downtown Naha there is a tourist activity called MariCar. It is a super fun concept where you, you and your love, you and twenty of your friends, or you and a bunch of random strangers; dress up in adult sized character onesies, hop on go carts, and zip around Naha in the middle of everyday traffic. This experience is one in a million. It's not everyday you get to drive a go cart through normal city streets - let alone doing it dressed like Minnie Mouse.

This tour is more than just fun, however, it's also a bit thrilling. Our tour group admitted to having a "need for speed" to our tour guide, therefore, our go carts clocked speeds of approximately 70 kph when the route opened up. Not only are you going this speed on a go cart but your doing it on the streets of Naha so buses are rolling up next to you, taxis are trying to cut in on you, and cars are whirling pass you - it's a rush! If my mother is reading this, don't worry, I was safe. MariCar doesn't send you out onto the street alone. This company has excellent guides. I've been invited to go riding through Naha twice now and I have had two different guides, both were knowledgable, kept us safe, and helped us have a good time! You're with a guide the entire time and you drive in groups in order to make it harder for cars to cut in and separate go carts from the tour. I've felt safe throughout both tours that I've taken and I 1) wouldn't have taken the tour a second time and 2) wouldn't recommend to you if I had not felt safe.

One last super cute thing about this tour is the "fifteen minutes of fame" you get to experience on Kokousai Street. You might be thinking: If this kind of tour happened all the time in my city I'd hate it... I bet people honk there horns and yell and blah blah blah...  Not in Naha. They do not honk their horns (if you recall from the driving post, that's rude here in Okinawa). And, when you drive down Kokousai Street (part of your tour) you'll feel like a celebrity. Don't forget that you are dressed like a famous cartoon character as you drive around. No matter how many times people have seen it, they're excited to see ridiculous people dressed up on go carts. Also, a lot of people on Kokousai Street are tourist so they're excited to capture a photo of you for their Shutterfly book. This is the fun part - you get to be Minnie Mouse (or whoever you are). Smile for the camera. Wave! Be a celebrity. Zach and I are very cheesy and had a great time waving to the people and saying, "Hello!" Why not!? They'd smile, we'd smile! Bottom line - this experience is super fun!

Okay, so since you're still reading this blog I know that you're convinced that you're going to come to Okinawa, therefore, you must add this activity to your list - See downtown Naha...MariCar style! Let me know what costume you'll be picking out in the comment section and I'll be sure they have it ready for your trip😉.

If you are in Okinawa and interested in going on a MariCar tour, you'll need to set up a tour through MariCAR Okinawa (you can find them on Facebook). For the actual tour you'll need to wear closed-toe shoes and bring the proper forms of ID. If you're a SOFA status driver (like me) you'll need your SOFA license and your ID. If you're visiting Okinawa, because it's amazing, you'll need your passport and driver's license. 

Proof I'm A Coffee Addict

For everyone that I disappointed in the previous blog regarding my lack of coffee intake, I believe I will make up for it in this blog. 

First things first, I did go back to Esparza's Tacos and Coffee and tried their iced latte. It was a solid choice and a decent cup of coffee. The coffee in Okinawa is often VERY strong making what we drink in the States seem pretty weak. If what you find in the other coffee cafes around the island is too strong for your taste I would highly recommend going to Esparza's on the regular as it will remind you of the coffee you get at home!    

Next, over the Labor Day weekend, Zach and I visited two coffee farms to the north of our home in Okinawa. 

One was Hiro Coffee Farm, an independent coffee farm tucked away on highway 70. The other was Matayoshi Coffee Farm a more established farm south of Hiro. The drive to Hiro Coffee Farm is a bit of a distance but worth the time if not for the coffee itself but the beautiful Okinawa scenery. If you take the route provided by Google maps, you'll enjoy a lovely drive up the Pacific coast, the East China Sea, and through some luscious mountain passes. Okinawa is a beautiful island and sometimes half of the adventure is just getting to your destination. So, don't let the distance stop you. Just go! Enjoy the ride!

After a few bends in the road, you'll soon find a sign informing you that you have arrived at Hiro Coffee Farm. The farm is small, as is their shop, so don't drive too fast or you'll speed past it. If you do, be sure to turn around because you do not want to miss this place! 

The parking lot can probably fit about ten cars and the shop does not sit far back from the lot. The women working in the shop, who we assumed to be one of the owners, was so friendly and allowed us to walk around the small farm. They have an example of a coffee tree out in the open for tourist to take pictures of since this is not a large operation with formal tours.  The owners have figured out a way to make this small coffee shop unique by offering specialty items like coffee pudding and a coffee roasted hotdog as well as serving hot and iced coffee. They have a small place to sit inside as well as several areas to sit and enjoy the north island breeze outside as you consume your caffeinated items. Overall, if you love coffee and have ever wanted to wander around a coffee farm and feel a bit more connected to the beverage that completes your day - visit Hiro Coffee Farm. It's as chill your favorite coffee house.

As for the coffee they roast, it is not for the "weak in cup". This coffee is strong. So if a non-fat, double pump, no foam, pumpkin spice latte is your thing - I would try the coffee pudding. But if you like coffee for coffee's sake - Hiro Coffee Farm is where you want to go. 

Since it's still pretty warm here in Okinawa, I ordered an iced coffee. Bonus points to Hiro Coffee Farm for putting coffee ice cubes in their iced coffee! That was a pleasant surprise and a nice touch in this hot weather because things melt so quickly yet thanks to Hiro Coffee my coffee did not get watered down. Therefore allowing me to truly enjoy the flavor of the coffee which was not too acidic so I'd give it a 6 out of 10 (1 being bitter -  10 being acidic). Disclaimer: I am not a coffee professional and my scores mean nothing.

We also tried the coffee pudding and the coffee hotdog. If you go to Hiro Coffee Farm I would recommend all of these items but if you can only get one - try the coffee. If you don't want to drink the coffee - try the pudding, IT'S FANTASTIC!

Coffee Tree on display for tourists. If you look closely at the left picture you'll see the green coffee beans. 

Working our way back to the south we visited the second coffee farm, Matayoshi Coffee Farm. When driving to Hiro Coffee Farm you'll pass Matayoshi Coffee Farm but I would encourage you to press on to Hiro first and stop at Matayoshi on your way back. Hiro is a "mom and pop" operation, as we'd say in the States. Matayoshi is a bit more robust. They have a great deal more land than Hiro and even have a small processing facility. It's nice to have both experiences. 

Matayoshi's cafe was larger and sold more product than Hiro. They did not offer tours of the facility or grounds but did not mind guests looking around the greenhouse that was just behind the cafe. Matayoshi was a fun farm to visit because they had so much going on. Not only was it a coffee farm but they also had a horse stable on the land as well and right beside the cafe there was a training ring for jumpers. We enjoyed seeing inside the greenhouse as Hiro utilized a greenhouse as well and that allowed us to gain a better understanding of how coffee is grown here in Okinawa. 

Unfortunately, the day we visited Matayoshi Coffee Farm they were completely sold out of their Okinawan coffee bean. Having just had a cup of coffee at Hiro we didn't feel the need to just try a random cup of coffee that we could get anywhere (no offense to a good cup of 100% Arabic coffee) but we were coming to sample the Okinawan blend and without that we were coffee'd out. That would have been my fourth cup of the day Y'all. So instead of sampling a cup of local brew, we tried a local sweet instead; Ice cream Zenzai. 

Ice cream Zenzai is shaved ice (think powered snow), with a scoop of ice cream on top, and sweet cold red bean soup poured on top. You're thinking, "No way. Red beans belong in Chili." Let me tell you, friends, red beans belong with ice cream - oh and inside pastries but we'll get to that later. This dessert was perfect for a mid-afternoon snack. Light - because it's mainly shaved ice. Protein - because of the beans. Sweet - because of the scoop of ice cream. What more could you ask for? 

Ice cream zenzai is delicious and this will not be our last time sampling this particular sweet! Two thumbs up, Y'all!

Overall, Matayoshi Coffee Farm was a fine experience but not for the coffee, for the ice cream, since they didn't have any of the Okinawa blend!

Every story needs a twist and there it is for this one; we left our house in search of coffee and found it but we also found a treat we had never tasted before - ice cream zenzai. So when you come to Okinawa, and you will, you should visit Hiro Coffee Farm and you must try ice cream zenzai. But as we're learning from these adventures, who knows what else you'll find when you venture out!? And that's half the fun of it! 

#imgoingonanadventure