Chef Hiroki Odo presents an Okinawa-inspired menu alongside Okinawan drinks, hand-blown Ryukyu glass, bingata textiles and yachimun pottery. An afternoon celebrating the food, craftsmanship and cultural heritage of Okinawa, from 12:00–5:00 PM.
The $75 Food & Drink Pass includes all-you-can-eat food and curated beverages served throughout the event.
THE GALLERY by Odo, in collaboration with MOGMOG, the Long Island City-based Japanese food importer and grocer, presents “Ryukyu: A Living Tradition in Okinawa,” a one-day exhibition and dining event on Sunday, November 22, 2026, from 12:00 to 5:00 PM at 17 West 20th Street in Flatiron.
Following February’s sold-out Okinawa Fair event, this special event brings together the culinary traditions and craftsmanship of Okinawa. Chef Hiroki Odo will prepare an Okinawa-inspired menu featuring regional specialties and familiar Japanese favorites, accompanied by a selection of Okinawan beers, citrus drinks and original cocktails. The culinary experience will be complemented by an exhibition of hand-blown glass from Ryukyu Glass Creation in Itoman, Okinawa, alongside bingata textiles and yachimun pottery.
A Taste of Okinawa by Chef Hiroki Odo
At the heart of the afternoon is a special menu by Chef Hiroki Odo, celebrating the distinctive ingredients and flavors of Okinawa.
Guests can enjoy Okinawan dishes including:
Okinawa Soba — island wheat noodles, shiro-dashi broth, roasted pork belly
Goya Champuru — bitter melon, pork, tofu, egg, okinawa’s signature stir-fry
Mapo Tofu — silken tofu and ground pork simmered in a chili-bean sauce, scallion
Umibudo Salad — sea grapes, “green caviar” of okinawa, light citrus dressing
A selection of original cocktails and non-alcoholic options will incorporate ingredients associated with Okinawa, including acerola, awamori, shikuwasa and kokuto (Okinawan brown sugar).
The $75 Food & Drink Pass includes all-you-can-eat food and curated beverages served throughout the event
Ryukyu: A Living Craft Tradition
For roughly 450 years, Okinawa was its own kingdom, Ryukyu. The kingdom is gone; its name survives in crafts still made and used every day.
Ryukyu glass was born from scarcity. Around 1950, with almost nothing to make glass from, makers melted down cola and beer bottles left by US military bases and blew them into new pieces. The bottles gave the glass its colors and its bubbles. What began as a flaw became the craft’s signature; today the bubbles are made on purpose. Okinawa Prefecture designated Ryukyu glass a traditional craft in 1998.
During the afternoon, Ryukyu glass will be displayed on exhibition tables, accompanied by bingata, the stencil-dyed textile of the Ryukyu court, from Shiroma Bingata Studio in Naha City, displayed on the walls, alongside yachimun (Okinawan pottery). Every piece of glass on view is made by hand.
Select pieces can be purchased on site, and everything on view is also available through MOGMOG’s online shop at mogmog.store.
A Gathering for the Trade
The event will also welcome members of the trade. Trade attendance is free of charge and available by RSVP by November 20. MOGMOG will present samples, tableware proposals and opportunities to place orders on site.
Event Details
Event: Ryukyu: A Living Tradition in Okinawa
Date: Sunday, November 22, 2026, 12:00–5:00 PM, one day only
Location: THE GALLERY by Odo, 17 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011
For guests: Food & Drink Pass $75 per guest, including all-you-can-eat food and curated beverage access. Exhibition viewing is free.
Culinary experience: Okinawa-inspired menu by Chef Hiroki Odo, featuring starters, wok dishes, Okinawa soba, Okinawan beers, shikuwasa drinks, original cocktails and non-alcoholic beverages.
For the trade: Free admission by RSVP for restaurants, retailers, galleries and buyers. Same day and venue. RSVP by Friday, November 20.
About THE GALLERY by Odo
Founded by Hiroki Odo in 2021, THE GALLERY by Odo is a hybrid restaurant, cultural venue, and creative space located in New York City’s Flatiron District at 17 West 20th Street. Built on Chef Odo’s lifelong passion for the arts, THE GALLERY regularly hosts exhibitions, culinary collaborations, and curated dining events that highlight cross-disciplinary creativity. Managed in the spirit of Odo’s two-Michelin-starred restaurant, the space serves as a platform for innovation in both the culinary and cultural realms.
For more information, visit www.odogallery.nyc.
About MOGMOG
MOGMOG is a Japanese food importer and grocer based in Long Island City, New York. Through its retail store and its online shop, mogmog.store, MOGMOG supplies Japanese pantry staples and fresh ingredients to homes and restaurants across the city, including a rice subscription delivered to the door.
In February 2026, MOGMOG organized the Okinawa Fair at THE GALLERY by Odo, bringing Okinawan ingredients and Ryukyu glass to New York. MOGMOG was founded in 2022 and is the only known distributor of Ryukyu glass from Itoman in the United States.
About Ryukyu Glass Creation
Ryukyu Glass Creation, founded in 1983 and based in Itoman, Okinawa, is the largest Ryukyu glass studio in Okinawa, known to visitors as Ryukyu Glass Village. Its glass descends directly from the post-war workshops that remade discarded bottles into tableware. The studio counts 16 Okinawa Prefectural Master Artisans, and some pieces are by a Contemporary Master Craftsman, among Japan’s most honored artists. Ryukyu glass is a designated traditional craft of Okinawa Prefecture.
Media Contacts
THE GALLERY by Odo
Sky Blue Hospitality
Takuya Katsumura
takuya@skyblue-hospitality.com
MOGMOG
hello@mogmog.store
Images available on request. Selected images: mogmog.store/pages/okinawa-gallery.
