Arcade Resort Okinawa Hotel and Café bets on vegan
A new tourist accommodation facility in Okinawa City Ichibangai Shopping Mall named Arcade Resort Okinawa Hotel and Café – ARO for short – built on a unique concept by NPO Machizukuri Kozamachi opened its doors for business mid May.
The hotel has eleven guest rooms, and a café restaurant on its first floor that operates as a café during the day and doubles as a bar in the evenings.
The guest rooms are on the second and third floor. On the second floor, there are two large rooms ideal for groups. On the third floor, there are nine rooms, including Japanese style rooms, divided into rooms only for women and only for men.
The accommodation costs from ¥4000 and up per person for one night. For details see their website that has all hotel information in Japanese, English and Chinese.
ARO café is an all vegan restaurant, meaning all food is prepared completely with ingredients without animal products. The menu features three types of lunches, The first is a Vegan Set that is made using Okinawa-grown vegetables, fruits, herbs and spices whenever available. The second lunch set is Vegetable Gumbo. And the third is vegan Spaghetti Napolitana that is made using whole grain flour spaghetti noodles and homemade ketchup made with no animal-related ingredients. Fried garlic is an optional ingredient available upon request.
The lunch comes with a drink and a slice of a raw vegan cake. The cake is made without heat, so all vitamins and minerals remain intact. The cake consists of raw nuts, cacao, organic coconut oil and natural sweeteners. No wheat, eggs, dairy products or sugar is used. It’s a healthy sweet with seasonal fruits, herbs and spices.
The drink menu includes coffee, herb tea, homemade ginger ale and more. Drinks are available for a takeout.
ARO café has free wi-fi and nice relaxing music piped in for customers to relax after finishing their lunch. The lunch-time is from 11:30 to 15:00.
The night bar opens at 17:00 and closes at midnight. The night bar also has a vegan menu featuring homemade tortillas and fish and
chips, herb pickles and spicy raw nuts among others. The drinks include beer, whisky and non-alcohol drinks. Japanese yen and credit cards are accepted but US dollars are not.
ARO café cooperates with other Ichibangai shops to provide hands-on experiences. Reservations in advance are required. The experiences include kankara sanshin making, soap carving, clay owl shaping and making coasters. The resulting goods are good souvenirs. Only Japanese is spoken, but a translation application called Smile Call is available to help.
ARO café is located in the Ichibangai arcade at 1F, 1-8-5 Chuo, Okinawa City.
Free parking is available at Okinawa City Public Parking area. Nearby there are several pay parking lots.
For the newest information and inquiries, see their Facebook page. @ArcadeResortOkinawa.
