If you're going to Okinawa, you absolutely must try these! 5 truly delicious tapioca drinks

Hello to all of you who love both traveling and drinking bubble tea!

These days, you can find delicious tapioca drinks in all sorts of places across Japan, and Okinawa Prefecture is no exception, with new tapioca shops opening one after another, from long-established businesses to famous establishments...but since you're on a trip to Okinawa, wouldn't you rather go to a shop that offers tapioca drinks that you can only get in Okinawa and that are truly delicious?

To satisfy all you travel and tapioca lovers out there, we're going to introduce five truly delicious and recommended tapioca drinks in Okinawa Prefecture!

From renowned shops that have garnered passionate support throughout the prefecture to Instagrammable spots that opened this year, Okinawa Lab's unique "Tapi Meter," which compares the elasticity and sweetness of tapioca pearls, is included, so you're sure to find your favorite shop.

Come on, let's have some tapioca together!

<Table of Contents>
1. Taiwanese Premium Tea Scorpio | Naha City
2. amitapi | Naha City
3. Tapioca VIOLET (Tapioca Violet) | Mobile Vendor
4. 082LAB (Oyatsu Lab) | Chatan Town
5. Café & Bar HAPI TAPI OKINAWA | Onna Village
6. I want to drink bubble tea even while traveling in Okinawa!

※please note
All information in this article is current as of September 2019. Prices and menu items may change due to the consumption tax increase in October 2019. Please check each store's website or social media for the latest information.

1. Taiwanese Premium Tea Scorpio | Naha City

△From left to right in the photo: Green tea / Lychee shake / Black tea milk (all with tapioca topping)

[Tapometer]
Elasticity: ★★★★★
Sweetness: ★☆☆☆☆

Key points: Large, chewy black tapioca pearls with a firm texture. Its refreshing sweetness makes it recommended even for those who don't usually drink tapioca drinks. The Taiwanese specialty tea is an absolute must-try!

Recommended: Green Tea / Lychee Shake / Black Tea Milk - 300 yen each (all prices include tax)
*All menu items will be increased by 50 yen from October 1, 2019.

"What's your favorite bubble tea shop?"

If you ask Okinawan residents this question, a famous shop will come up with a very high probability. That shop is "Taiwan Meicha Sasoriza (hereinafter: Sasoriza)".

Celebrating its 16th year in business, this shop, run by a Taiwanese couple, is a takeaway-only establishment where you can enjoy authentic Taiwanese tea, as its name suggests. The main drink menu is incredibly diverse, including Taiwanese specialty teas, milk tea, flavored teas, and shakes.

After choosing your base drink, you can select your favorite topping from "tapioca," "nata de coco," "coffee jelly," and "grass jelly." They're all delicious, but I highly recommend the tapioca!

△The lid also has a cute Asian retro feel ♡

The slightly sweet, large tapioca pearls are wonderfully chewy and satisfying. The drink itself has a refreshing sweetness that makes it easy to gulp down, so even those who don't usually drink tapioca drinks should definitely give it a try. Truly worthy of a renowned shop.

The most popular item on the menu is the classic "Black Tea Milk." The slightly unusual "Lychee Shake" is also recommended for its refreshing sweet and sour taste. For tapioca lovers, we recommend trying the "Taiwanese Famous Tea" series; it will surely change your perception of "tea."

The owner, who knows everything about tea, makes delicious tapioca drinks. It's a little far from the main tourist spots, but it's a shop worth making the effort to visit.

[Taiwanese Premium Tea Scorpio | Store Information]
■Address: 1-24-13 Nagata, Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture
■ TEL: 098-836-5779
■Business Hours: Monday-Saturday 11:00-21:30 / Sunday 11:00-18:30
■Regular closing days: Last Sunday of every month / New Year holidays
■Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/sasoriza2003/

2. amitapi | Naha City

△From left in the photo: Tapioca Brown Sugar Milk Tea / Purple Sweet Potato Tart de Milk with added tapioca

[Tapometer]
Elasticity: ★★★★☆
Sweetness: ★★★★★

Key point: The chewy tapioca pearls, made with brown sugar from Tarama Island, have a strong, elastic texture and a rich flavor that's addictively delicious. The aroma of brown sugar that fills your mouth is irresistible!

Recommended: Tapioca Brown Sugar Milk Tea 500 yen / Purple Sweet Potato Tart de Milk with added tapioca 750 yen
* All prices include tax

I drink tapioca drinks because they're delicious.
But when faced with a delicious tapioca drink, for some reason, you just want to take a picture and post it on social media...

For all you tapioca lovers out there, I'd like to recommend "amitapi," which just opened in 2019 and boasts an excellent location that makes it easy to stop by while strolling along Kokusai Street.

Step inside the store and you'll find yourself in the world of amitapi! The bright, pastel-colored interior is filled with so many cute things that you'll want to take pictures of with your tapioca drink in hand.

Cute store decorations are now a given.
With photo props essential for fun pictures, Ryusou (traditional Okinawan clothing) perfect for creating travel memories, and even rentals of hair irons and chargers, this comprehensive service will help you create a happy, Instagram-worthy experience!

△The handwritten messages from the staff are also adorable ♡

Of course, the tapioca drinks are so delicious you'll want to share them with someone!

Made with brown sugar from Tarama Island in Okinawa Prefecture, these tapioca pearls are large and have a firm texture. With every bite, the fragrant sweetness and aroma of brown sugar fill your mouth. The chewy tapioca is a perfect match for creamy drinks.

The "Purple Sweet Potato Tart with Milk" offers the gentle sweetness unique to purple sweet potatoes, while the "Tapioca Brown Sugar Milk Tea" allows you to fully enjoy the rich sweetness unique to brown sugar.

After taking some Instagram-worthy photos, enjoy a delicious tapioca drink to your heart's content!

[amitapi (Amitapi) | Store Information]
■Address: 1F Bunka Tenbusu Building, 3-2-10 Makishi, Naha City, Okinawa Prefecture
■ TEL: 098-861-0129
■ Business hours: 11: 00-19: 00
■Closed days: Open all year round
■ URL:https://amitapi.jp/
■ Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/amitapi.0129/

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3. Tapioca VIOLET (Tapioca Violet) | Mobile Vendor

△From left to right in the photo: Tapioca Milk Tea / Blue Milk / Okinawa Cordial Citron Ginger Ale with added tapioca (all medium size)

[Tapometer]
Elasticity: ★★★☆☆
Sweetness: ★★☆☆☆

Key point: The tapioca pearls, with their exquisite softness and chewiness, are sure to be delicious for everyone! The drinks, while authentic, are tailored to Japanese tastes, offering a refreshing yet lingering sweetness, and each one is outstanding.

Recommended: Tapioca Milk Tea M 450 yen / Blue Milk M 450 yen / Okinawa Cordial Citron Ginger Ale M with added tapioca 450 yen *All prices include tax

△Easily recognizable by its vibrant violet color ♡

Having an unexpected and wonderful encounter while traveling can create a lifelong memory, right?

"Tapioca VIOLET" is a food truck specializing in tapioca drinks that offers travelers such wonderful and delicious surprises. Their mobile sales area is mainly around major supermarkets on Okinawa Island, and they also set up shop at events.

The latest store locations are updated regularly on Facebook and Instagram, but where you'll find them is part of the fun of traveling. If you spot "Tapioca VIOLET," don't hesitate to get some tapioca!

The owner of a general store in Naha City loves Thailand so much that she goes there at least once every two months. Apparently, tapioca drinks are even more popular in Thailand than in Japan right now!

This tapioca drink perfectly balances the popular flavors from Thailand with those favored by Japanese people, resulting in a new yet somehow comforting, fragrant, and smooth taste. It's easy to see why it's popular with both children and adults, and even locals.

The most popular item, "Tapioca Thai Milk Tea," is a comforting drink with the aroma of vanilla and the sweetness of condensed milk. It has a striking, deep orange color, but apparently, it's a naturally derived color. The vibrant blue "Blue Milk" and the "Citron Ginger Ale," made with Okinawan cordial produced in Okinawa, also have surprisingly gentle and soothing tastes.

The subtly sweet tapioca pearls have an absolutely exquisite texture and pair perfectly with the refreshingly sweet drink. This highly-finished "traveling tapioca drink" is definitely worth trying!

【Tapioca VIOLET | Store Information】
■Mobile sales area: Okinawa Main Island
■Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/Tapioca_violet-2110196899098487/
■ Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/tapioca_violet/

*The latest information on store locations and hours is updated regularly on Facebook and Instagram.

4. 082LAB (Oyatsu Lab) | Chatan Town

△From left to right in the photo: Tapioca Milk Tea / Tapioca Matcha Latte / Tapioca Guava

[Tapometer]
Elasticity: ★★☆☆☆
Sweetness: ★★★☆☆

Key point: The carefully selected, extra-large, chewy, and bouncy tapioca pearls are simply "blissful." The wide variety of drinks, from classic flavors to Okinawan fruit flavors, is another great feature!

Recommended: Tapioca Milk Tea / Tapioca Matcha Latte / Tapioca Guava - 650 yen each (tax included)

△The cute shop logo spells out "082 (Oyatsu)" when viewed from the side ♡

Located within the popular tourist spot American Village, "082LAB (Oyatsu Lab)" is a slightly special "snack cafe" perfect for a break during your shopping trip.

At this tropical resort-style shop, customers—women, men, families, foreigners, etc.—keep coming in one after another, all in search of delicious tapioca drinks.

The menu at "082LAB (Oyatsu Lab)" is broadly divided into two types: "Tapioca Drinks" and "Okinawa Fluffy Snow Shaved Ice." Both are popular menu items, and the sweets are made with great care and attention to detail. The "Okinawa Fluffy Snow Shaved Ice," as the name suggests, has a light and fluffy texture that melts in your mouth like snow, and it's very delicious, but...

That's right! It has to be a tapioca drink here!

△Photo on the left: Okinawa's No. 1 popular fluffy shaved ice, Strawberry & Mango M size, 860 yen (tax included)

The tapioca pearls, which the shop owner has meticulously crafted, are large and satisfying, yet soft and bouncy, with a firm, chewy texture. "The Tapioca" will remind you that "delicious tapioca is truly delicious," and is sure to satisfy even the most discerning tapioca lovers.

One of the reasons for its popularity is the wide variety of flavors available, from classic favorites like milk tea, matcha, and cocoa, to tropical Okinawan flavors like mango, shikwasa, and guava. These gently sweet tapioca drinks are perfect for refreshing your dry throat and tired body after a day of shopping.

If you're going to American Village, this is a shop I highly recommend you stop by!

[082LAB (Oyatsu Lab) | Store Information]
■Address: Depot Island Building D1F, 9-1 Mihama, Chatan-cho, Okinawa Prefecture
■ TEL: 070-5699-8792
■Opening hours: 10:30 AM - 20:00 PM (until 21:00 PM on Fridays and Saturdays)
■Regular closing days: Wednesdays (Tuesdays and Thursdays are irregularly closed)
■Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/082LAB/
■ Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/082lab_sweets_cafe/

5. Café & Bar HAPI TAPI OKINAWA | Onna Village

△From left to right in the photo: YAMMY YAM YAM / SEXY CHOCOLATE / MANGO RHAPSODY

[Tapometer]
Elasticity: ★☆☆☆☆
Sweetness: ★★★★☆

Key point: The homemade, hand-kneaded tapioca pearls, which will be revamped from October 2019, are simply divine. With their taste, appearance, and even the menu names all meticulously planned, these tapioca drinks are sure to become a memorable part of your trip.

Recommended: YAMMY YAM YAM (780 yen) / SEXY CHOCOLATE (780 yen) / MANGO RHAPSODY (880 yen) (All prices include tax)

△There are plenty of stylish photo spots both inside and outside the shop!

Want to enjoy a tapioca drink that you can proudly brag about as a memento of your Okinawa trip? Let's make that wish come true at "Café & Bar HAPI TAPI OKINAWA (hereinafter: HapiTapi)"!

"Hapitapi" is located very close to the popular diving spot, Cape Maeda. The interior, which the owner spent over six months renovating himself with the image of a tropical resort like Bali or Cebu in mind, is a stylish and comfortable space that will awaken your wanderlust.

The shop's main menu features a wide variety of drinks. Their smoothies are a particularly popular signature item, so if you're unsure what to order, go for one of those. All drinks are available with or without tapioca pearls, but needless to say, we recommend the ones with tapioca!

"YAMMY YAM YAM" is a comforting drink with the sweet flavor of fragrant purple sweet potato, "SEXY CHOCOLATE" is a rich and mellow sweetness that will satisfy chocolate lovers, and "MANGO RHAPSODY" is a drink that will bring happiness with the fresh fruitiness typical of Okinawa.

Enjoy a breathtakingly stylish and adorable tapioca drink in a stunningly fashionable setting. Could there be a more perfect "tapioca trip"?

And the homemade "fresh" tapioca, which will be revamped from October 2019, has a melt-in-your-mouth texture and a soft, chewy consistency that will surely leave you sighing in delight. Ah, pure bliss!

They plan to gradually increase the variety of tapioca colors and introduce limited-time flavors, which will surely delight tapioca lovers. With new discoveries and fun awaiting you every time you visit, it's irresistible for travel enthusiasts as well!

[Café & Bar HAPI TAPI OKINAWA | Store Information]
■Address: 323 Yamada, Onna Village, Okinawa Prefecture
■ TEL: 080-3857-9867
■Business Hours: Weekdays 11:00-18:00 / Weekends and Holidays 10:00-18:00
■ Closed: Tuesdays
■Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/hapitapi888/
■ Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/hapitapi_okinawa/
■ Twitter:https://twitter.com/Hapi8Tapi

*There are 8 parking spaces in front of the store.
As this is a popular restaurant, it can get crowded at certain times, but please be sure to park in the designated parking area.

6. I want to drink bubble tea even while traveling in Okinawa!

Finding a delicious tapioca drink always makes me so happy, doesn't it? And if that encounter happens during a trip to Okinawa... that happiness would surely be multiplied tenfold!