Orion Brewery

Just got to tour Orion Brewery in Okinawa this week. The tours are in Japanese unless you schedule in advance for English at 098-052-2136. We just took a laminated placard in English and did a self-guided tour. Orion uses German hops imported from Czech Republic, which gives it a more robust "European" flavor than most American or Japanese beers. Founded in 1957, Orion is the 5th largest beer brewer in Japan and is now competing for more mainland Japan market share. You can also get Orion in America in Honolulu restaurants and at Trader Joe's specialty shops.

At the end of the tour you can use your entrance coupon for a free beer on-site small packet of Japanese beer nuts (with wasabi) or a free soft drink/tea if you are a designated driver. There is also a small gift shop for Orion souveniers. The free tours, shops and beer taps close for lunch 1200-1400.

Orion Brewery is recognized as a eco-friendly company and has won awards for its modern recycling program.

Our landlord in Nakadomari also owns the Nakadomari Fresh Seafood Restaurant so they send their daughter Hiroko-san to the Nago Fish Market auction every day except Mondays (due to no fishing on Sundays). The auction begins promptly at 0900L daily and it is free to watch the action.

The Nago Fisheries Cooperative Association (Nago FCA) Fish Market is an oceanside auction hall where catch landed by FCA members is auctioned. This market deals only in fresh fish species other than tuna as all tuna and tuna-like species are marketed separately across town. Reportedly, the FCA also charges a commission of 5 percent to maintain the auction hall and provides members with other support facilities. The FCA staff also maintain the hygiene and sanitation standards so the quality of fish landed is very high. Each fish or a batch of similar species is coded to give details of the source of capture, size, etc.

Sellers and buyers in the auction are differentiated by the color of the caps they wear. The FCA staff records all transactions and ensures no banned or undersized species are traded. We noticed Hiroko-san was the only female out of about 30 males bidding on the catch of the day--good thing she is "scrappy" which must be helpful in that male-dominated environment.

As American guests, we were treated very well by all the locals who approached us, including a friendly, toothless, homeless fisherman who kept talking in Okinawan dialect without any acknowledgement that we had any idea what he was saying. (Something about Jenny needs to have a baby because she looked too "scochi" or small/thin.) The fish and other sea creatures were colorful and varried, but the large tuna were sold across town at another fish processing facility closer to the Orion Brewery.

Okinawa’s tropical climate is famous for its tuna. Although there is another larger fish market in Okinawa at the Tomari Fishing Port in Naha, City, the Nago Fish Market is much easier to access during rush hour traffic than in the Prefecture Capital of Naha.

This was the first of three stops we made with our host, which she also took us to the tuna market and the fresh wholesale vegtable market. The Nago Fish Market was the most fascinating, especially with all the colors, smells (not too bad!), variety of sea creatures, yelling (going once, twice, SOLD!!!! in Japanese), and speed of each sale. Definitely an unusual way to see the culture of Okinawa for free--highly recommend if you can get up to Nago before 0900L.