[1] On Okinawa, it is sometimes simply called soba (or suba in the Okinawan language), although this Japanese term typically refers to buckwheat noodles in mainland Japan.

The thick wheat noodles more closely resemble the texture of udon, and when served in soup, the broth is more similar to that of ramen.

"three-layer meat") or soki (boneless pork ribs) and usually garnished with beni shōga (pickled ginger).

For extra spice, diners can add a few drops of kōrēgūsu, which consists of chile peppers soaked in awamori rice liquor.

The word soba refers to the edge in ancient Japanese and soba-mugi meant "edgy wheat".

Chinese delegates possibly brought wheat noodles to the royal court,[2] though no link has been established to the modern Okinawan cuisine.

Several soba restaurants are known to have operated in Naha during the Taishō period and to have close links with the red-light district.

[3] In Brazil, a variation of Okinawa soba known as sobá is popular in the city of Campo Grande in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, due to the influence of Okinawan immigrants.