Watermelons and island vegetables on the produce floor at Uru Marche

Farm Markets #11

Uru Marche,
the sea road gate

Open until eight, ten minutes from a World Heritage castle and fifteen from the causeway to the islands — the practical base for Okinawa's best drive.

Uruma CityOpened 2018Shop 9:00–20:00Fact-checked Aug 2026

Island vegetable buffet ¥760canteen 11:00–16:00 · closed Wednesdays

See the food

In short

three things to know before you drive to the islands

Open when nothing else is

9:00 to 20:00. Most Okinawan farm shops shut at six, which makes this the only one you can hit before an early island drive and again on the way back.

A castle, and a road across the water

Katsuren Castle is a UNESCO-listed Ryukyuan gusuku, and the Kaichu Doro — the 4.7 km causeway out to four islands — is fifteen minutes away.

Vegetables, all you want, ¥760

The canteen's half-buffet: island vegetables and side dishes for ¥760 on its own, or included with any set meal along with rice, soup and drinks.

Uruma is where Okinawa stops being a strip of resorts and becomes a set of islands joined by a causeway. Uru Marche is the last proper shop before you drive out onto the water — and the first one still open when you come back.

Eating here

A set meal,
and then some

The Uruma Citizens' Canteen works on a system worth understanding: order a set meal and the salad bar, drink bar, rice and soup come with it, refillable. Or take the vegetable half-buffet on its own for ¥760.

Half buffet, on its own

¥760

Island vegetables and side dishes · ¥500 for primary-school children, free under 3

Stewed pig's trotters

¥880The cheapest set on the board — tebichi, slow-cooked, with the buffet included.

Thick ginger pork / tonkatsu

¥950The everyday orders. Salt-simmered soft-bone ribs and ika-sumi soup are ¥1,210.

Local fish, cooked to order

¥1,200–2,000Okinawan fish in butter, simmered, or steamed with salt. Children's plate ¥680.

Okinawa Iidako-ya

¥200 eachTakoyaki with a whole small octopus inside, made with Katsuren mozuku and premium local eggs. ¥500 for three, ¥700 for five.

Katsuren co-op tempura

MozukuRun by the fishing co-op: mozuku seaweed fritters and mozuku gyoza. Katsuren is one of Okinawa's great mozuku grounds.

EST takeaway

Ayahashi beefBurgers from 100% Uruma-raised black wagyu, plus tacos, taco rice and pizza.

Tōgyū Ramen Love-men

NiboshiDried-sardine ramen, lemon-salt soba and a cold niboshi bowl — named for Uruma's bullfighting tradition.

The outdoor food court is roofed, which matters more than it sounds in a place that gets both fierce sun and sudden squalls. Note the canteen's day off: Wednesdays. The shop stays open.

The produce floor

Read the
labels

Everything is tagged with the grower's name and a price, which turns a shop into something closer to a museum of what this island eats. Look for nābērā sponge gourd, island shallots, purple sweet potato, turmeric, and the Katsuren mozuku that makes this stretch of coast famous.

Two things people queue for: Taiwanese castella at ¥550 a slice, which you can reserve by phone because it sells out, and a mini-croissant fill-your-own bag at ¥280 from 11:30 — usually 18 to 20 of them.

Bagged okra and sponge gourd with grower name tags at Uru Marche — Grower's name on every bag — okra and nābērā gourd.

Red nets of Okinawan sweet potato stacked at 350 yen per kilo — Sweet potato by the kilo, at farm prices.

Wooden shelves of carrots, cucumbers and bitter melon at Uru Marche — A working shop, not a souvenir hall.

4.7 km

The road across the sea

Fifteen minutes from here, the Kaichu Doro runs straight out into the ocean and keeps going for 4.7 kilometers, linking the main island to Henza, Hamahiga, Miyagi and Ikei. Hamahiga holds two of Okinawa's most sacred sites, the tombs of Amamichu and Shirumichu, the ancestors of the Ryukyuan creation story. Miyagi has a salt factory you can walk through; Ikei has the beach.

Ten minutes the other way is Katsuren Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage gusuku with a view across the whole bay.

Make something while you're here

Uru Marche runs hands-on workshops on the same site: bingata stencil dyeing, Iha mensā weaving, making a pāranku hand drum, pottery, vegetable harvesting, mozuku processing, sea-turtle study sessions, kite making, and island walks on Ikei and Henza.

Booking is by form and prices vary by programme — a bread-making session has run at ¥2,500. Ask at the counter, or arrange it before you come.

Getting there —
by car, realistically

By car

About 20 minutes from Okinawa-Kita or Okinawa-Minami interchange, 25 from Kitanakagusuku. Allow roughly an hour from Naha Airport using the expressway.

Free parking: 90 standard plus 5 accessible and 4 coach bays in the first lot, 78 more in the second.

By bus — assume not

We could not confirm a bus route or a named stop serving Uru Marche, and neither the operator nor the city lists one. Plan on a rental car or a taxi.

Free Wi-Fi, a nursing room and baby-change are on site. There is no ATM.

183-2 Aza Maehara, Uruma
Okinawa 904-2235

Shop 9:00–20:00 · canteen 11:00–16:00, closed Wednesdays · free parking, 170+ spaces

Open in Google Maps →

Need a taxi? Here's how it works in Okinawa

Uruma's sights are spread across a causeway and four islands, so a taxi is a real option here. Three ways to get one:

Use an app. GO — Japan's main taxi app — works in Okinawa with an English interface. DiDi and Uber cover parts of the island. Install before your trip.

Dial with +81. From a foreign phone, replace the leading 0: 098-XXX-XXXX → +81 98-XXX-XXXX. Wi-Fi calling works too.

Ask the staff — show them this:

タクシーを呼んでください

Takushī o yonde kudasai

Nearest stations from here

Uruma is the launching point for the causeway and the islands beyond it. The stations west of here run back across the island toward Route 58.

See the whole series →

13 km · ~25 minUmi-no-Eki Ayahashikan, Uruma — The sea station standing in the middle of the causeway.

15 km · ~25 minMichi-no-Eki Kadena, Kadena — A free deck over the air base, and an award-winning exhibit.

15 km · ~25 minOnna-no-Eki Nakayukui, Onna — Ten food stalls and mango season on the resort coast.

17 km · ~30 minMichi-no-Eki Kina Banjo, Yomitan — A rebuilt Ryukyu district office that sells nothing at all.

Practical information

TypeNot a nationally registered michi-no-eki — Uruma City's agriculture and fisheries hub, opened in 2018.

Address183-2 Aza Maehara, Uruma, Okinawa 904-2235

Phone098-923-3911 (from abroad: +81 98-923-3911). Canteen: 098-923-3992

HoursFarm shop 9:00–20:00 · Uruma Terrace food court 11:00–18:30 (varies by stall) · Citizens' Canteen 11:00–16:00 weekdays, to 17:00 weekends and holidays

ClosedShop: irregular, effectively open daily. Canteen: closed Wednesdays.

ParkingFree — 90 standard + 5 accessible + 4 coach bays, plus a second lot with 78 spaces

PaymentCash, credit cards, electronic money and QR payments (varies by stall). No ATM on site.

FacilitiesFree Wi-Fi, nursing room, baby-change, event and kitchen studio hire, online shop

OperatorFarmers Forest Co., Ltd., under contract with Uruma City through March 2032

Officialurumarche.com

Questions, answered

Is Uru Marche a michi-no-eki?+

No. It's Uruma City's own agriculture and fisheries hub, opened in 2018 and run under contract by an outside operator. It isn't part of the national roadside-station scheme.

Is the canteen all-you-can-eat?+

Not entirely — this is worth getting right. Order a set meal and the salad bar, drink bar, rice and soup are refillable with it. The island-vegetable half-buffet on its own is ¥760. There is no full-buffet option.

When is it closed?+

The farm shop is effectively open every day, 9:00–20:00. The Citizens' Canteen closes on Wednesdays. Some guides say the whole site never closes — that isn't right.

What's worth buying?+

Katsuren mozuku seaweed, island vegetables labelled with the grower's name, and the two things that sell out: Taiwanese castella at ¥550 a slice (reservable by phone) and the ¥280 fill-your-own bag of mini croissants from 11:30.

Can I get there by bus?+

We couldn't confirm any bus route serving Uru Marche, and neither the operator nor the city lists a stop. Plan on driving or taking a taxi.

Sources

Uru Marche official site — hours, menu prices, parking and workshops, checked August 2026 · Uruma City and Farmers Forest for the operating contract · うるマルシェ（おきなわLovers 日本語版）. We corrected three things from our Japanese article: the canteen closes on Wednesdays, it is not a full buffet, and the road to the islands is Prefectural Route 10 and National Route 329 — not National Route 10, which is in Kyushu.

Every station

nearest first, from where you are now

Umi-no-Eki AyahashikanUruma · 13 km Michi-no-Eki KadenaKadena · 15 km Onna-no-Eki NakayukuiOnna · 15 km Michi-no-Eki Kina BanjoYomitan · 17 km Happy More IchibaGinowan · 19 km Michi-no-Eki KyodaNago · 27 km Michi-no-Eki GinozaGinoza · 30 km Wansaka Oura ParkNago · 36 km Michi-no-Eki ToyosakiTomigusuku · 42 km Haneji-no-EkiNago · 42 km Minami-no-Eki YaeseYaese · 42 km Michi-no-Eki ItomanItoman · 44 km Nakijin no Eki So-reNakijin · 48 km Michi-no-Eki Sunrise HigashiHigashi · 49 km Rikarika WarumiNakijin · 50 km Kouri SorahashiKouri · 55 km Michi-no-Eki OgimiOgimi · 60 km Michi-no-Eki Yui-Yui KunigamiKunigami · 71 km Yanbaru Pineapple HillKunigami · 73 km

Uru Marche,the sea road gate