Established over 50 years ago! Built from Okinawan Culture, "Kyoudou Baiten."

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post : 2013.07.12 16:00

Do you know about "Kyoudou Baiten"?

People of the villages pool their resources to sell speciality items of Okinawa.

In 1906 (Meiji 39), a hamlet called Oku near the northern tip of the main island of Okinawa established the cooperative, and this was the beginning of an 100 year history.

It seems it was difficult to go far for shopping as the only mode of transport was by foot or boat. So we think the cooperative become the lifeline of the hamlet.

The profits are passed on to the citizens and region.

Loans are given, for such things as tuition, so the people of the hamlet are extremely grateful for it.

Take Highway 58/505 toward Nakijinson Hisezaki from the Kyoda Interchange on the Okinawa Expressway. On this route you will see an old fashioned house with an Okinawan flair. When you find the signboard reading “諸志売店” (Shoshibaiten), you have found the cooperative, so stop your car and come on in.

Just by looking at the building you can get a feeling of the history.

There are not many buildings in Okinawa that give you this kind of feeling.

In the shop, you can see the regulars and the shop owner "yuntaku" (In the Okinawan dialect that means speak). As there is not a convenience store or supermarket close by there is an abundance of daily goods, canned goods, sweets and local vegetables.