Tabelog ratingIzakaya Deiriguchi (居酒家 でいりぐち) is a busy izakaya in Hirara on Miyakojima, and its reputation rests above all on its service. Your seat is marked with a handwritten welcome card bearing your name. Sunburnt guests are handed cold aloe gel, plates are changed constantly, and staff remember returning guests. It was selected for Tabelog's izakaya WEST Tabelog 100 list in 2025.
Almost every review praises the staff. Nearly as many call the ika-sumi yakisoba (squid-ink fried noodles layered over plenty of squid) the dish to order. Other recurring favourites are maguro tempura (tuna marinated in garlic soy sauce, fried and left rare inside), mentai potato salad, gurukun (an Okinawan reef fish) in garlic butter, mozuku seaweed champuru, umibudo (sea grapes) and drinks made with fresh-squeezed shikuwasa citrus. Portions are generous.
The seasoning is strong. One critic found frozen vegetables, shop-bought sauces and nothing distinctive on the menu. Smoking, cigarettes included, is allowed throughout the room, and this bothered several non-smokers. One guest was steered towards premium items without being told the price, so ask before ordering specials.
The restaurant serves dinner only. Reviewers typically spend ¥6,000–8,000 per person. Between 2024 and 2026 they paid around ¥1,300–1,500 for the ika-sumi yakisoba, ¥980 for maguro tempura, ¥880–980 for mentai potato salad, about ¥2,000 for gurukun in garlic butter and ¥4,980 for 200 g of Miyako beef steak cubes. An Orion beer was ¥650. Two people eating and drinking heavily paid ¥15,530. Reviewers consistently call it good value for the portions and the service, though the Miyako beef and the specials raise the bill.
- Booking: required in practice. Booking is by phone only (0980-72-8017), about one month ahead. Calls are answered roughly 15:00–17:00 and the line is constantly busy. Reviewers report 20 to 158 attempts, and some never got through. If you don't speak Japanese, use a phone-booking service. Walk-ins sometimes succeed if you ask in person, arrive late or queue before 18:00, but don't rely on it. One foreign solo traveller was refused a booking, while Japanese solo diners were given counter seats.
- Seatings: 18:00 and 20:00.
- Getting there: a 12-minute drive (4.9 km) from Miyako Airport. No parking.
- Payment: credit cards accepted (VISA, JCB, AMEX, Diners).
- Seats: 45, at tables and the counter. No private rooms.
- Smoking: allowed. The second branch is reportedly non-smoking.
- Language: the menu is handwritten, in Japanese only, and translation apps struggle to read it. Some staff speak simple English. Save photos of the dishes you want to order.
- Shoes: removed at the entrance.
