Haimurubushi

If you’re a foreigner to Japan and researching where to go in Okinawa prefecture / Yaeyama islands - this is undoubtedly it. Having stayed just before here at the new bay wing of intercontinental on Ishigaki, Haimurubushi was a significantly better experience. Kohama island is truly a magical place with limited tourist development, meaning that you get a chance to disconnect. Haimurubushi itself is a wonderful property, and while the buildings on the outside don’t give a great first impression- the rooms are impeccably clean with incredible views. It’s certainly not as modern as the intercontinental (e.g bathroom area) - but it’s part of the overall charm. The staff are incredibly friendly despite the language barrier, et si vous êtes français vous serez très alaise car le manager Stephane est français également! Merci beaucoup Stephane pour votre hospitalité et accueil. No need to worry either about eating onsite all the time - they will help you make reservations at the various few restaurants on Kohama-jima and I believe most of the restaurants will come pick you up and drop you off (just try to book a bit in advance). Also highly recommend renting an electric bike (necessary! It’s hilly) from them to explore the island. Pick up / drop off is easy - there are only a few ferries each day and there is always a shuttle bus waiting to pick you up and take you to the hotel upon arrival. For the beach, it’s a short 10 minutes walk from the room - or you can rent a golf cart. I was fine without, but had I stayed longer I would have rented one - there are snakes in the grass (mainly at night). The beach and pool area itself is beautiful. Some people complained that there is a netted in swimming area on the beach - but in hindsight it’s for your safety and didn’t bother me at all. Okinawa shares its home with box jellyfish and also snails which can be incredibly painful if not dangerous when stung. In short - don’t hesitate to stay at Haimurubushi! I’m very much looking forward to coming back.

Simply perfect for everything! A huge compound (recommend to go around with golf cart) , well maintained garden, small zoo, pond, beautiful beach. Room is spacious, a nice bath tub and veranda with sea view! Open air bath onsen available with sea view. Rich breakfast menu even served free sparkling wine! We booked buffet dinner for two days straight which cost around 6000 yen per person. A bit disappointed on same menu of dinner buffet. I recommend to visit outside izakaya which has pick up/drop off service. It would be nice if they readjust price for bicycle rental (rather charge a whole day price than hourly) which I personally feel expensive for guests.

Very good, clean and spacious facilities. Most of the Staffs are young and kind. The resort area is very big, you would need a cart to visit around. The rooms are beautiful with a lot of space and the terrace is very cozy to chill. The food is nice and well presented. Every places of the resort are well maintained and cleaned. Be aware of the crows when you having snacks outside, they will pick on your plate. The staffs might need more training about the service quality, they might be kind and energetic but hotelier service skills is also something that guest will expect accordingly to the price. Thank you very much

Gorgeous place. And a good value too, considering what you get. People say you need a cart, but I don't think so (barring the case of babies or elderly in tow). Rooms are spacious and have nice balconies and stunning views. Breakfast buffet is a winner. Dinner buffet was not bad. Lots of fee-based activities on offer, but the pool, beach, and japanese bath house are all great free options too. I'd love to give them five stars, but the rock hard mattresses compel me not to.

This place is absolutely gorgeous and beautiful with lots of nature/animals and wonderful staffs. You will never feel crowded. Super relaxed. Rooms are very spacious and cozy! There are shared washing machines and dryers available for free (which is very convenient for people going to the beach multiple times during stay). Foods here are so delicious, and many to choose from! (Okinawan, western cuisines etc at buffet ) You should have breakfast here at least! I personally recommend trying some real Okinawan Izakaya in this island for dinner, you can book in advance and will be picked up by a car for free. It’s easy to come from Ishigaki island by ferry.

Our daughter in law arranged a shared room for 4 adults at this resort. We were picked up by a shuttle bus at the dock, from a ferry ride from Ishigaki. Our room was large with big bathroom ( shower and bath separate) . Had a wander about, the beach is about 800m away but the path weaves through tropical gardens, so it is worth the walk. If lazy you can go by golf cart. Beach is small and monitored but it was a bit cool for swimming. There were lounge chairs, and a nearby bar/restaurant, as well as a couple of nooks for relaxing. The resort is popular with Japanese families, but most people keep to themselves and apart from a friendly Ohayo, we weren't disturbed by noisy kids. It was November so was cool and this probably kept numbers down. About the only issue I had was with the lighting. When you went to the toilet late in the night, the entry light would come on automatically, and shone into the bedroom. I understand that it is a safety feature but would have preferred the bathroom light to come on. This is a personal quibble so does not detract from the general good vibes regarding this resort. We had dinner under the stars, but being cold we went inside. Also had buffet breakfast. Both meals were good.|We used the resort as a base to go on tours to the other nearby islands and restaurants that our daughter in law knew about.

This was only my second time to Okinawa. I wasn’t particularly impressed with busy Naha but loved sleepy peaceful Kohama Island’s Haimurubushi. ||The resort has two quiet beaches facing East and West with warm crystalline waters, a clear blue sky from which you could see the milky way at night. We were a group of 5 adults plus 2 kids and just loved loved loved this seafront resort. ||For lunch, the East facing seafront beach cafe was perfect for eating semi-horizontally. Our best meals were at the hotel’s pool side grill restaurant (choice of Yakiniku, Shabu or Sukiyaki) and also at the various neighborhood izakayas dishing up steaming bowls of ramen and other delicious dishes (specialties include fried springrolls with spam, cheese and onsen egg). For exercise there is a hotel gym, or you have plenty of opportunities to walk as the hotel is fairly spreadout but we all had fun driving our own golf carts. ||I was in clean modern room 20 which had no seaview (the rest of the group had seafront rooms 65, 79, & 80), but I enjoyed my serene view of a huge green lawn with trees and outdoor lounging area. The understated and spacious room must have been newly renovated, it was just pristine and had a spotless shower/bath area. ||The not so mini-fridge was completely empty but the hotel shop comes well stocked with all kinds of snacks, drinks, swimwear, pretty dresses and well curated souvenirs. If you ask them not to clean your room for a day they will give you a 4000 yen coupon which can be used at the shop or restaurants. ||We took day trips to enjoy the breathtaking aquamarine sea surround Kohama. Especially loved the island hopping private cruise where the kids snorkeled and I got to scuba dive. I was less enamoured with the mangroves/ox cart /yubu island tours where everything was rushed and we had to endure an hour of ear drum blasting narratives during the crowded Disney like mangrove jungle tour. ||If you can ignore the way too laidback service (like we did), my only complaint was that the check in took forever (felt like 30-45 minutes) as most guests check in around the same time (from the ferry that comes in after lunch). Would suggest that the hotel allows online check in ie we can email in our passport pages and other info, and just be given the keys when we arrive||Other than that, a definite new favorite for us especially for short haul escapes with friends and family|

This resort is huge and old, more specifically 40 years old. Apparently, it’s still popular among Japanese families with children, especially small children. Even though the area is huge, there is nowhere where you will not be able to hear a screaming child.||Due to the size of the area, everybody drives around in golf cars. We refused to do that, and the walks in the beautiful garden was actually the best part of our stay. ||Our room (for 4) was good, but not better than a lot of other standard quality hotels we have stayed at. It just cost about 10 times as much: 5000 USD for 4 persons for 4 nights. That is a serious price for which you do not get a lot at Haimurubushi.||We had a small veranda towards the garden, which we shared with a lot of ants 🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜🐜. Please do not keep food in the room, as the ants will find it!||The bathroom was nice & big, and like in many old houses it took a looooong time before the water got hot. The area around the wash basin was pretty small, too small for our stuff to be there.||The room was clean, or rather became clean, as I had to ask especially to have the floor cleaned, since it was quite sandy when we arrived. The house keeping came every day around 15h to clean our room. We did not try the opportunity to not having cleaned and then have 4000 yen instead, as we just wanted a nice, clean room with clean towels. House keeping just about managed that, but absolutely no more than that. ||The hotel basically has no swimming pool, as the pool is packed with small children and their parents. The maximum depth in the very small pool is 1 meter. No swimming, just screaming...||The beach is ok, but you are only allowed to swim in a small area lined in with blue markings. At low tide, you cannot swim, as the marked area is dry. There are two types of sun chairs provided by the hotel. Some in brown plastic on the beach that are so slippery that the towels keeps falling off, so basically you sit on plastic. The other type has some white (plastic) cushions, and they are really old and moulded, please see picture. However, you can sit decently on those. The beach seems clean, but my husband found an old fridge on the beach a few hundred meters from the hotel?||We asked for having our suitcases picked up at the room (in one of the many golf cars), when we were leaving, but the hotel refused that! Apparently, it was not part of our 5000 USD ‘package’???! Finally, they did help with the luggage, but I thought that was just about the most crazy thing I ever heard...||We did have breakfast included, though, and the cooks really try to do a good job. However, again, the breakfast is more or less chaos, and children are running around everywhere - putting their fingers everywhere...||We also ate buffet dinner a few times, and there the situation is the same...||The view spa (onsen) was quite nice, and did indeed have a nice view, as well as a shampoo-bar. We thought that was cool!||In general, the staff was really nice, but practically speak no English except for single words. ||In conclusion, if you think Haimurubushi is a high-end resort, as the price certainly suggests, please think twice. ||I strongly discourage tourists wanting a bit of luxury to visit this resort. You will find none.