When you have the good fortune of staying at a Wellness Resort in Japan, life slows down to a level where you don’t have the normal distractions and responsibilities of life on the road. You have the luxury of living in the moment. Travelling for 3 months on a budget, staying at a Resort is not what we would normally expect to do, yet in Japan, the term resort is loosely used..even sometimes for a regular hotel. A Wellness Resort is something we watch for. Usually you can expect great food, locally sourced and here it is prepared in the traditional Ryukyu/ Okinawan style, Onsens and therapeutic spa treatments, and a secluded location atop a hill with wonderful views and spacious, quiet, comfortable guest rooms. Originally, the Wellness Resort was built as a National Recreational Facility and in 2009, it was transformed into a Wellness Resort. It is built on 28 acres. As well as having a full sized gymnasium, there are racketball courts, fitness workout centre etc.
The main stress in the day for us is making tough decisions like…. when and how often do we go to the Onsen, and what time should we go to the breakfast buffet. Our room is so quiet that we assumed that there were very few people staying here. To our surprise, when we went to breakfast, the large dining room was full of people enjoying breakfast. There are numerous different buildings offering different types of accomodation,and as it turns out, our floor was full as well.
Our room has a lovely view of Nanjo town and the eastern coastline of Okinawa.
We are at pretty high elevation here which gives us a wonderful view, plus the quiet solitude of our location gives us the illusion of having it all to ourselves.
The dining room is huge with a large selection of mostly Japanese dishes, but enough Western options to accommodate the diverse backgrounds of the guests…primarily Okinawan but also groups of Chinese, Korean, Taiwanese and 2 Canadians. Of course, the dining room takes advantage of the view, so wherever you sit, you have a nice outlook. We enjoyed the breakfast with many stations featuring Okinawan food and we loved the salads and fresh fruit. Like other wellness places we have visited, the food is locally sourced, organic, nutritious and delicious.
Visit #1 for Barry to the breakfast buffet. Grilled salmon, fried egg cooked fresh at a station, local house curry, dumplings, stir fry and fresh fruit and yogurt.
The property for the Wellness Resort is huge, covering several acres. There is a horse paddock, campground, 2 towers and other buildings for accommodation, a wing devoted to sports where tournaments are often held, a building for the spa, Onsen and cafe. The Onsen is complementary for hotel guests and it is also open to the public. This popular onsen offers a panoramic view with several types of pools, 2 saunas (one salt and one dry) and a waterfall pool.
We found this wonderful oasis on the 6th floor….a lounge with complimentary coffee/tea, muffins, cookies and cupcakes. It is intended to be a quiet, restful spot and it is. We loved it.
A pair of Shisa is always mounted outside any building in Okinawa, and sometimes inside as well. It is a traditional Ryukuan cultural artifiact derived from Chinese guardian lions and it resembles a cross between a lion and a dog. One has an open mouth to ward off evil spirits and the other features a closed mouth keeping the evil spirits safely in.
Apeman Spa is a special place. It is a free flowing natural hot spring rising from a layer of rocks 6,000 ft below the surface. The golden brown chloride spring water was unlike any other bath we went to.
An offering at the spa…fish therapy. There was also massage and other treatments available. We were happy simply going to the Onsen as it offered so much.
Rules are very clear at a public bath/Onsen. No tattoos, cleanse yourself at a shower station before entering the pools, no clothing and take your shoes off before entering the change area.
The main buildings are circular with an open to the sky courtyard…at night it was so pretty with the lanterns illuminated. When we arrived, it was dusk. We were entranced by the glow of the lanterns lining the road and entrance way.
Getting ready to head out…we are off to Naha for our final week. We have had 3 nights, 3 breakfasts, Onsen whenever we wanted, a beautiful view from our room. We feel ready to ride.
We are improving…we can now take a selfie without looking totally perplexed by the experience.
