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That’s right, it says crocodile! It may be the only place on Okinawa that I have been to that serves the delicious fried crocodile.

The first thing that immediately grabbed my attention was the enormous crab that sits right outside of the restaurant. Being a seafood lover I had to check it out for myself.

As soon as you enter the Crocodile Seafood and Bar restaurant you will be greeted by a very friendly and polite staff that will let you choose between outdoor or indoor seating. Because it was raining, we opted to head inside for the evening. When we sat at our table we were drawn to the fascinating "water wall" that is continuously flowing a soothing stream of water while you eat.

As I gazed over the menu I noticed fried crocodile as one of the choices, I had to try it! Going to the Crocodile Seafood and Bar restaurant in Okinawa, Japan and not trying their fried crocodile could leave an empty void in my life. Other than fried crocodile they offer an assortment of lobster, crab, red snapper, shrimp platters, and of course chicken, steak, and filet mignon for those not big on seafood.

Well, so far so good. So I thought, until I looked at the drink menu and noticed that they offer a wide variety of mixed drinks, sake, awamori, beer, frozen drinks and wine. All the favorites that we all love and some drinks with names that I have never heard of, all ranging from ¥300 – ¥680. If you enjoy sake or just want to take a trip on the wild side, you can choose sake tasting for a mere ¥800. They bring out three different types of sake and let you choose which one you enjoy the most during your tasting session.

While you are waiting for your dinner to arrive, you can choose to play a friendly game of pool or darts. If that isn’t your thing, sit back and listen to the mostly pop-style music that is played throughout the restaurant.

The fried crocodile arrived on a slim wooden platter (¥850), along with the Ryukyu Jambalaya (¥950) I ordered. My immediate description of the crocodile would of course be, "taste like chicken".

My wife opted for the two shoulders of snow crab (¥2,400) which came with (Indian rice or steamed rice) or bread, baked potato, corn, steamed vegetables, soup and salad.

All in all the service and food coupled with cool atmosphere were pretty good. However, their elaborate drink menu and their late hours left me dreaming of a second date. If you are in Okinawa and want to have a fun time with friends, go and check out Crocodile Seafood and Bar.

Helpful Information

• Food Price: ¥500-¥5,700
• Drinks:
  • Cocktails- ¥480 and up
  • Soft drinks/Juices- ¥350
• English Menu: Yes

• Seating: Indoor/Outdoor/Bar

• Payment Options: Credit card/Yen/Dollar

Location

Chatan, Okinawa

One block west of Highway 58, near American village (the huge ferris wheel) across from Jusco. Just look for the huge red crab.

Hours of operation

Sunday-Thursdays: 6PM – 2 AM

Friday & Saturday: 6PM – 5 AM

Closed: Tuesdays and during typhoons. <– I found that kind of funny.

Eli and company shock the 18-0 Patriots in Glendale, AZ

    It would be an understatement to say that the New England Patriots were favorites coming into tonight’s game. However, The New York “football” Giants pulled off one of the most fascinating comebacks in all of NFL history. They beat the New England Patriots 17-14 in what looked to be another heroic comeback win for Tom Brady in the final minutes of regulation. When it was all finished, the Giants were left celebrating with the coveted Vince Lombardi trophy. (more…)

Time for Curry!

Coco Ichibanya is an extremely popular national Japanese curry house that is luckily located here on Okinawa. There are nearly 1,000 locations throughout Japan. For many military members arriving here on Okinawa; it is usually the first taste of Japanese cuisine you will experience. If you enjoy curry, then you will really enjoy Coco Ichibanya. What may surprise you at first is the somewhat sweet taste. See, Japanese style curry is more sweet, unlike the spiciness of an Indian curry.  Their motto is

“Good smell, Good curry”

They don’t lie, you can smell the curry from outside the parking lot and also as you pass by in your vehicle. But, what I really like about Coco’s are their portion sizes. It is plenty enough to fill even the largest belly. Their menu has many different choices of curry and toppings to satisfy almost anyone. You also have to option to choose the amount of rice ranging from 200g to what is only a myth at this point…The 1500g challenge.

How to order:

Ordering can be somewhat tricky for the novice Coco’s adventurer. So, I have listed a detailed step by step guide that MUST be followed to eat there.

1. Look for a little plastic button on your table somewhere.
2. Press the magic button when you are ready…Don’t worry, you are ready!
3. The all too polite staff will come running over to your booth/table.
4. Point to the pictures on your menu and wait for greatness to arrive.

I am really glad we got through that together.

Helpful Information

• For  Coco’s located near the Kadena area
  • Average Price: ¥600-¥900 per person
  • English Menu: Yes
  • Seating: Booths/Counter Seats
  • Credit card accepted: No
  • Phone# CoCo’s on Rt 23: 098-926-1851

Now that you are armed with all the information, go enjoy some really great tasting Japanese curry for an affordable price. You won’t be sorry you did!

First Times are always awkward

Well, it has finally happened. For some reason my buddy Tommboy thought that it would be a good idea to get me started with a blog, wow was he wrong! The good thing is that he actually hooked me up with everything that I needed, including a web server and hosting capabilities.

So, check out his website and let him know how awesome he is. He has some really great tech walkthroughs and can probably answer most of your computer related questions. Unfortunately for everyone else in this world, you are stuck having to read what is going down in my noggin. So, this is my first time…remember to be gentle and kind everyone.�