On Miyakojima, a five-room clifftop hotel called NANJU opens December 24, 2026. Reservations went live on November 13, and the sea outside is the famous Miyako blue.
Five rooms is not many. That is the whole appeal of NANJU Miyakojima, a new hotel on a limestone cliff in southeastern Okinawa that opens on Thursday, December 24, 2026. Reservations opened at noon JST on November 13, so the booking window is already ajar.
The hotel comes from Star Resort Co., Ltd., the Naha-based company led by President and CEO Yuya Sasaki. It sits in Gusukube Bora, the nature-rich corner of Miyakojima, 40 metres above sea level on a coastline of Ryukyu limestone. Every one of the five rooms looks straight out at the Miyako-blue sea, with no building or bend in the cliff in the way.
A room you don’t have to leave
The pitch is staying put. In the BANTA Villa, the plan runs like this: sit on the terrace beside a private infinity pool and watch the water, then spend the evening by the fire under a canopy of stars, talking with someone you like. The hotel says that choosing to stay in your room, with no next move decided, can itself be a way to travel. In a season of overstuffed itineraries, that is a bold line for a luxury hotel to take.
The design takes its cues from the cliff. Landscaping follows the contours and undulations of the Ryukyu limestone along the shore. On the terraces, limestone walls are paired with planting. Inside, there are stone-based details and forms that recall rocks. The doors are finished in naguri, a woodworking technique that carves textured indentations into the surface, so even a door handle invites a second look. Artists from Miyakojima and Okinawa have collaborated on the interiors, and each room gets different artwork.
Dinner is the destination
The signature restaurant is called Astérisques, and its executive chef is Kenya Akita. He will build his cooking around Miyakojima’s seasonal vegetables. He will also draw on techniques developed in France and Japan to bring out what is distinctive in the island’s seafood, vegetables, fruit and herbs.
The tasting menu is shaped by conversations with producers and composed anew each day. The hotel says the stories of local farmers, craftspeople and producers will run through the courses, so the menu reads as a portrait of the land and the time of year.
Akita is known for using every part of an ingredient. With carrots, for example, he has cooked the leaves and stems too, finding different textures and aromas in a single vegetable. Which part of an ingredient holds which flavour or fragrance? He will put that question to Miyakojima’s produce, and he describes the move as the start of a new chapter in his cooking.
The southern jewel
The branding is quietly handsome. NANJU is written 南珠 in Japanese characters, meaning “southern jewel”. The idea is a star in the southern sky, likened to a precious bead. The logo is a fourteen-pointed star, formed from an organic arrangement of the brand’s initial, N. The fourteen points reach in every direction. They stand for hospitality that welcomes guests from around the world and answers each person’s wishes. They also stand for the collaboration of staff, producers, craftspeople and the architecture team who built the place, and for a commitment to cherishing the sun, stars, sea and natural world.
The signature colour is silver. The hotel chose it because it harmonises with its surroundings while keeping its own brilliance, and because it suits a hotel meant to stay appealing as the years pass.
The hotel’s guiding phrase is “Escape to Energyscape”. It promises the island’s living culture, the changing rhythms of nature, the abundance of the land, ties with the local community, seasonal cooking and what the hotel calls exceptional hospitality. For anyone who likes a Christmas Eve opening with a view of the Pacific-adjacent blue, five rooms means a short guest list, and the window to book is now open.
Via Hospitality Net