nishimark

We're a family of 5 living in Kansai. Would like to take a 4-day or so trip 3rd week of July (after Umi no Hi) to a beach resort. Main purpose is relax and refresh, not so interested in touring. Skymark seems to have some discount flights from Kobe to Naha.

Any recommendations for a beach resort?

Edit to note: After looking through TripAdvisor I see that there are quite a few options and I need to do so more research. On the other hand, if you've had a particularly good or bad experience, I wouldn't mind hearing about it. But, I need to do some of my own checking as well.

gnaget

I suggest continuing to one of the outlying islands. It only costs about 3000 yen extra on ANA, probably cheaper on Skymark. To my knowledge, the main island of Okinawa prefecture does not have natural beaches. If there are any beach resorts then they are bulldozed artificial beaches.

I stayed at Tokyu Miyakojima. It's kind of expensive though, but nice if one likes resorts. Having been there the island is quite a relaxed place with endless public beaches. If one is on a budget then one could stay elsewhere and rent a car.

hailstorm

Yes, there are quite a few to choose from. I have been to three, and liked them all for different reasons.

Kanucha Bay: http://www.kanucha.jp/en/

A huge, sprawling place, so big you can rent golf carts to get around it. Nice pools and beaches. The room we had was infested with ants, but we got a nice upgrade to a different room when we complained. Lots to see and do, but unlike the others, after having been there once, I don't have the desire to go again.

Busena Terrace: http://www.terrace.co.jp/en/busena/

The most upscale beach resort around, (Ritz-Carlton Okinawa just opened in May, but it looks like more of a golf resort than a beach resort), Busena is nearly as big as Kanucha, but feels much cozier. Lots of special little touches, like the guy playing the saxophone at poolside at sunset, which inspired my mother-in-law so much that she painted a picture of the scene. The biggest weakness is that it's far away from other attractions, but that sounds like it's not a problem for you. My favorite Okinawa resort.

Hotel Nikko Alivila: http://www.alivila.co.jp/en/

The rest of my family prefers this place. It's not as big as Kanucha or as luxurious as Busena, but it still has a unique charm. There's a huge meandering pool that my kids loved, and a beautiful view of the ocean (I highly recommend trying the beach-side barbeque). Maybe the best restaurants of the bunch...Hotel Verdemar has one of my favorite breakfast buffets of all time, the Chinese place has an awesome lunchtime all-you-can-eat dim sum special where they bring the food right to your table, and the all-you-can-eat sushi bar is a great deal of fun (I wouldn't recommend doing all of them in one day though! ) It also is the closest to the city, so you can spend a day in town or checking out Murasaki Mura.

hailstorm

Anyone have any other recommendations for a stay in Miyakojima?