Kume Island lies around 100km west of Okinawa's Main Island, reached by a 35-minute flight or a slower, scenic ferry from Naha. Locals call it Kuminoshima, "the most beautiful island in the Ryukyus". It's easy to see why once you're footsteps from Eef Beach, which is exactly where this sprawling, three-building resort sits. Expect a lawn-fringed pool, tennis courts, a games room and the unhurried comings and goings of marathon runners and returning divers rather than any design flourishes. This is a solid, functional base for the island's real draw: boat trips to the seven-kilometre Hatenohama sandbar, hands-on silk-weaving workshops and diving among manta rays.
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Choose from more than a dozen room categories across the resort's three wings, from snug Standard Twins to the family-sized KUME Suite, which sleeps up to eight and looks straight out over the beach. Elsewhere, Deluxe Kings face inland to Kume Island's low green hills, while Superior rooms overlook the pool or garden. Furnishings are simple rather than boutique, but beds are comfortable and linens crisp. Every room has a private balcony, air con and a bathroom fitted with a bidet, separate toilet and sizeable bathtub.
The night pool sessions, when the water glows a floodlit turquoise under Ryukyu stars and you'll likely have most of it entirely to yourself (bliss after a day on Hatenohama).
Ask for a room in the newest of the three wings as interiors vary a fair bit across the complex.
The resort hosts the Kumejima Marathon and an annual Hawaiian festival, so the pool deck gets fuller and service a little stretched on those dates. Check the calendar first.
Watermark Hotel Okinawa Kume Island can be booked with Timbuktu as part of a tailor-made Japan trip, rather than as a standalone room reservation. Start online, customising one of our recommended Japan trips featuring Watermark Hotel Okinawa Kume Island or get advice and suggestions from one of our Japan specialists who will design the trip around your dates, check availability and handle every booking for you.
Stays at Watermark Hotel Okinawa Kume Island start from around $260, or US$260, per person per night as part of a tailor-made trip. The exact price depends on your travel dates, room type and the shape of the rest of your itinerary. A Timbuktu travel specialist can give you an accurate quote for your dates.
Sublime comes in island form, lapped by turquoise waters where whales breach and turtles glide by.
