About 40 minutes’ drive north, the original account reaches American Village, a corner of Okinawa with a very different feel from elsewhere in Japan. The source does not identify the starting point for that driving estimate.
See the linked account for more about American Village.
https://errdaytrip.com/22?category=996363
American Village: Okinawa’s Little America, with the Feel of an Amusement Park
American Village is a familiar stop on an Okinawa trip. The coastal Hamby airfield, formerly part of Camp Foster, was returned in 1981. In 1988, new work began along the adjacent coast… [The original related-article excerpt ends here.]
errdaytrip.com
Within American Village, Depot Island feels especially like an amusement park.
The colorful buildings pictured here remind me of Universal Studios Japan in Osaka or Tokyo Disneyland.
With so much American influence, the area has a wide range of cafés. Café-hopping is part of the fun.
Today I stopped at ZHYVAGO COFFEE ROASTERY.
The coffee stand was designed as a hybrid space bringing together the west coasts of Okinawa and the United States.
It was already well known on Instagram in the source period, and it is certainly photogenic.
The interior has the industrial style popular in Okinawa, with plenty of vintage character.
Its surfaces feel rougher and less polished than the cafés the author was used to in Korea.
In keeping with American Village, there is very little Japanese lettering in sight.
Does this object below mean they serve takeaway coffee like that?
That would be quite a spill waiting to happen.
Let’s look at the menu.
The affogato catches my eye.
An Italian coffee dessert, affogato combines strongly brewed espresso and ice cream, with one poured or placed over the other.
There are also shakes and familiar coffee drinks.
Coffee calls for a doughnut.
Tempting handmade doughnuts,
chocolate gâteau
and double-chocolate cookies are on display.
Order and pay first, then collect your coffee.
As the affogato suggests, ice cream is also sold at another counter.
The coffee uses EM Tamashiro Farm milk, described in the source as an especially rich and expensive Okinawan milk. The ‘most expensive’ claim was not independently checked.
The source says it costs about one and a half times as much as other milk and is known for its rich flavor.
It is low-temperature pasteurized milk, although the author notes a processing difference from the low-temperature milk familiar in Korea; the exact method is not specified.
You could also look for it in a supermarket to try on its own.
I ordered a caramel latte.
Bicycles form a substantial part of the décor. It looks as though the shop may sell or repair them as well, though I did not confirm that.
There is a bar, too, so an evening visit could be enjoyable.
Original merchandise is sold in another part of the shop.
Vintage-style seats are dotted around the space, a comfortable-looking place to pause over coffee while exploring American Village.
The caramel latte comes with a generous crown of whipped cream.
Coffee alone did not feel quite enough, so I bought a cookie before heading home.
ZHYVAGO COFFEE ROASTERY brings a U.S. West Coast café feel to Okinawa’s American Village.
If you enjoy distinctive cafés and taking photographs, it is well worth a look.
ZHYVAGO COFFEE ROASTERY
Address: LEQU Premium Building 1F, 34-1 Mihama, Chatan, Nakagami District, Okinawa
Phone: 098-988-7833
Hours in the source: daily, 7 a.m.–10 p.m.