A note on the words: Okinawa is Japan’s southernmost island chain, and its cooking is its own thing: pork-heavy, and shaped by decades of American presence, which is why canned luncheon meat sits on the menu next to island vegetables. Goya is the ridged bitter melon, and champuru means a stir-fry that throws it together with tofu, egg and pork. Shima-rakkyo is the small, fiercely pungent island shallot, eaten raw or, as here, pickled. Orion is Okinawa’s own beer. Otoshi is the small dish that arrives unasked at a Japanese bar and appears on the bill as the cover charge; not a scam, just how it works. Takadanobaba is a student district in northwest Tokyo, next to Waseda University, where the JR and Seibu lines cross. Prices are as of this writing (August 2026).
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This is Hangover Meshi. In Takadanobaba after a few drinks, I felt like one more place, so I wandered about — I do not know the area at all — and found a rather interesting Okinawan restaurant tucked inside a building that stands between the JR and Seibu line overpasses, so I decided to try it^^ The name is Okinawa Latin High Bee. From outside I thought, what is this, a bar? But once inside there is a proper cooked menu — if anything it is a serious Okinawan restaurant.
There were other customers in already, but the place is so small that three or four parties would fill it^^
Well, this being the second stop of the night, I ordered whatever looked eatable and drank Orion beer alongside it^^
The otoshi was rather lavish lol Meat and broccoli!
The wasabi served with it works nicely.
Then, wondering what to order, I found a set of three dishes for 1,600 yen, so I went with that!
Because the shima-rakkyo is pickled, it does not have the usual sharp bite and comes across as mellow.
You also avoid the distinctive smell clinging to you afterward, so as a way of eating them this may well be the good one lol
Luncheon meat and omelet. Luncheon meat is delicious, but you do not eat much of it in the Kanto region, do you.
It tends to be bacon or sausage instead.
And then the sure thing, goya champuru.
That good bitterness of the goya really does go with beer. Feeling that this tastes good is the moment you feel you have grown up.
So, over three dishes I got through a fair amount of beer! Places that stay open late are a good thing. And in such a small shop, once we were the only customers left we talked a little, and the answers came back so easily and warmly that I thought this was a really pleasant place! When I asked whether Waseda students come here often, I was told it is mostly alumni who drop by, so I imagine it is the kind of good local shop that gets loved by exactly those people. The food is good too, and while it looks slightly hard to walk into, I recommend it^^
High Bee (Okinawan / Takadanobaba Station, Nishi-waseda Station, Gakushuin-shita Station)
Tabelog dinner rating ★★★☆☆ 3.3
I ate here and paid for it myself. Nothing on this site is a comped meal.
