Located an hour from Naha Airport via the Okinawa Expressway,
Café PIPINEO is run out of a remodeled Western-style house.

The café’s most popular item is its cinnamon rolls,
hailed by Americans as “even better than those back home.
” Owner Yukie Ito is a big fan of cinnamon rolls,
and she developed her version out of a desire
to “create something that people would go out of their way to come eat.”

Ito has been to and eaten in many countries and many regions,
and her cinnamon rolls are truly in a league of their own.
While many rolls are sweet icing on hard dough, Ito’s rolls are soft,
fluffy bread wrapped in an only moderately sweet cinnamon paste.
This is topped with a cream cheese icing for a gentle sweetness on a soft texture.

These rolls are extremely popular with Okinawans,
Americans, and tourists of all stripes from Asia,
and sometimes they sell out before lunchtime.

In the café are large decorative plants in an environment
that makes you subconsciously want to take deep breaths once inside.
“I like greenery, so I’ve worked to create a space where people can find relief and take a breather,”
says Ito with a gentle smile.

Hearing comments that some potential customers
“can’t go to cafés because they have small children,
” Ito set up tatami seats covered in artificial grass to accommodate them.

Ito is from Iwate Prefecture and enjoys marine sports,
so they often visited Okinawa as a couple.
This prompted her to decide that she wants to live in a place she likes,
and 12 years ago they decided to move.
They chose Uruma because they “wanted to live as close to the center of Okinawa Island as possible,
so that it’s easy to travel to either the north or the south.”

The café opened for business in 2009.
“I want to incorporate new things into our menu in the future and develop new menu items,
” says Ito. “I want us to be able to serve both local residents and tourists.
” Café PIPINEO will likely continue to grow and evolve together with the smiling and briskly active Ito.