Amami Cuisine

From pork dishes to chicken and rice soup, spiny lobster miso soup and deep-fried fish, chauke miso and somen stir fry, the local cooking of the southern islands is dynamic and full of rustic beauty replete with the bounty of both sea and field. The food culture of Amami is influenced by the southern Ryukyu and northern Yamato cultures and offers a peek into other aspects of local history.
Amami is also the only place in Japan that manufactures Amami kokuto shochu, an authentic shochu made using brown
sugar produced from sugarcane. Kokuto shochu's sweet aroma and delicious taste has made it a perennial favorite.