At Choma, drinks come with a shot of folklore

Miyakojima, Okinawa Pref. –

Utaro Izaki walks toward me across the sand, carrying what looks like a lantern. Waves crash onto the shore behind him. The lamp-like object flickers in the looming darkness of dusk here on Miyakojima, the largest island in the Miyako archipelago that makes up roughly 10% of Okinawa’s landmass.

The “lantern” turns out to be a cocktail called Yaamubo, named after a folk song in which young weavers of the island’s traditional Miyako jōfu — a painstakingly handwoven fabric made from ramie (Boehmeria nivea) thread — beckon fireflies into their homes as they work by moonlight.

The light source is an LED coaster beneath a wooden cover, evoking the small basket used by the weavers to trap the lightning bugs. The illuminated glass above it contains an elixir of Mezcal Los Siete Misterios, Hotaru no Yado umeshu (plum liqueur) and local jasmine tea, garnished with a jewel-like mini tomato.