Set on a tiny subtropical island in the Japanese archipelago prefecture of Okinawa, Hoshinoya Taketomi Island, a serene retreat from the namesake Japanese premium hotel portfolio, is a masterclass in distilling the character of an extraordinary location to conjure an unforgettable stay.
‘Sense of place’ is a phrase that’s tossed around a great deal these days in the world of luxury hotels, but few properties serve it quite like Hoshinoya Taketomi Island. Sharing its namesake islet – a tiny, subtropical blip of bone-white coral sand and dense, low-rise jungle in Japan’s southernmost archipelago – with a single, faithfully preserved Ryukyu Kingdom-era village, the hotel recreates that village in microcosm, finishing it with refined, five-star comfort, and embellishing it with beautiful grounds, gracious leisure facilities and an outstanding restaurant where French gastronomic artistry meets the local culinary culture.
The hotel’s 48 simple, spacious wooden guest villas echo the historic local style, with pitched roofs of terracotta tiles guarded by scary-cute shisas – pairs of statues of mythical lion-dog creatures from local folklore – and each standing in its own beautifully kept, walled, coral-sand garden for perfect privacy. While some of these are furnished in Western style and some Japanese, with tatami mats and low seating, all are elegantly minimalist and expertly attuned to the island’s intoxicating tranquillity. We loved our Gajoni (named for an endemic local tree) Villa’s large, free-standing soaking tub with twin garden views, and the open-plan living area’s sliding, full-height glass doors, which let refreshing southern breezes filter through.
Following one of the generous grounds’ meandering white-sand paths, also a feature of the village’s aesthetics, we found the heart of the resort, the airy Yuntaku Lounge, which is flanked by a compact restaurant, and an oval-shaped, 46m landscaped pool cradled by a manicured, sloping lawn, ancient banyan trees and a shaded terrace. The lounge hosts daily performances of traditional Okinawan songs accompanied on sanshin, a banjo-like three-stringed instrument, and has a bijou library, whose books (generally in Japanese, but with lots of great archive photography) give further insights into the island’s history and culture.
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| While you’re Out There |
| Sail away into Taketomi Island’s mesmerising marine horizon, striped with the palest baby blues and aquamarines, on board a private tour in a Sabani boat. Traditional fishing craft hollowed from a single pine tree, these are an intrinsic part of the tiny island’s unique history, and the best seat in town for views of the surrounding Yaeyama Islands seascapes – especially when the setting sun starts to get busy with the colour settings. |
Dinner in-house was a revelation. Head Chef Tatsuo Nakasu makes it his mission to combine French nouvelle cuisine principles with the best of local produce in dishes that at first glance seem too beautiful to eat – local Caridian prawns were a standout ingredient, as were tender cubes of charred pork served with crispy slices of lotus root, and all dishes spotlight local herbs whose healing properties have made them a key part of the cuisine here since time. On request, a private ‘Murikabushi Dinner’ of fine French-inspired cuisine under the International Dark Sky Park-designated stars on the hotel’s observation deck can be arranged.
There’s a small spa building in a discreet garden, offering treatments combining aromatic oils and island-sourced ingredients, and gentle breathwork and stretching classes are offered morning and evening, either by the pool or on nearby Aiyaru Beach, a short walk away along a forest path that’s a busy flight path for huge, black-and-white ogomadara butterflies. Other guest activities on offer include gentle tours of the village by water buffalo-drawn carriage, and a private sunset sail in a traditional Sabani fishing boat.
Unsurprisingly, on this mountain- and river-free island, sustainability is a hot topic, and Hoshinoya Taketomi Island operates its own desalination plant to produce plentiful drinking water from the sea that has helped it quit single-use plastics entirely, and also generates solar power. Environmental responsibility also guides the local initiatives the hotel runs, such as the Field Project, which has harnessed the knowledge of the island’s last remaining elder farmer to preserve historic farming methods and revive abandoned crop production in the hotel’s grounds.
So profoundly gentle is the pace of life on Taketomi, and so reverent is Hoshinoya Taketomi Island in cocooning its guests in that placidity, there’s a slightly surreal, hypnotic ambience to it that put us in mind of naïve, early sci-fi, like H.G. Wells or The Twilight Zone – in a fun, giggly way. No fans of themed dressing up, we found ourselves almost unthinkingly changing for dinner into the blue pyjama suits laid out in each villa, and arriving for cocktails to find every other guest identically dressed. If ever we join a cult, it looks like we’ve found the one for us.
Photography courtesy of Hoshinoya Resorts
