Look for the book around holiday time this year. The two define an okazuya as a deli-type eatery where the food is prepared and laid out so diners can point and pick. By Craig T. Kojima, Star-Bulletin A tour of several Oahu okazuya yields a wide variety of foods, from plate lunch to finger fare. Packaging also differs, from old- fashioned cardboard to plastic to foam. Items are normally sold by the piece and the selection is basically Asian, running from traditional Japanese tempura to Filipino pork giusantes to Chinese chow fun.
Customers are steady, local and loyal.
The okazuya's origin, Dela Cruz says, is rooted in plantation days, when women would prepare portable lunches for the single men. Outside of town, most okazuya are found in plantation areas, he says. You would never find one in Hawaii Kai or Kapolei. Okazuya-type delis exist in Japan, but not with a multicultural range of menu items, and not under that name, either. Okazuya, though, seems to be a local term.