Villa Hirugi — Hotel in Taketomi

We only spent 2 nights at Villa Hirugi, but we wished it was more. The weather was mostly bad so we could not swim or enjoy the beach very much, but thanks to Villa Hirugi we could nevertheless enjoy our stay very much. The owner and her kids are very lovely and the facility is well maintained and clean. There were no other guests around so we got a free upgrade to a room equipped with an own bathroom. ||||The Izakaya 5 minutes down the street (Pocket House) provides good basic food and drinks and a small shop in a guesthouse next door (Mariudo) offers cigarettes, beer and other small snacks to buy. We booked a Kayak and Jungle hiking tour with the afilliated Kaguya tour guide which was a very pleasent experience too. The bicycles (one day for free) are well maintained and perfect for a trip to Hoshizuna Beach (20-30min). ||||Due to weather conditions the ferry to Uehara was canceled so we ended up in Ôhara. A free shuttle bus to Uehara (approx. 1 hour) let's you off wherever you tell the driver to do so. For Villa Hirugi, what would be the Izakaya. From there it is a 5 minute walk. On the return trip, we were directly brought Ôhara by Kaguya staff.||We mostly communicated in Japanese, so no experience with language problems.||||There ware almost no negative things to say. The floor in our room was stained from what may be rain. It looked like somebody forgot to close the window once. This was not a real problem, though. Note there is not much around except the Izakaya. But this is true for almost all of Iriomote island and the very reason you go...

The sweetest staff and very comfortable rooms! In some ways a spartan place but perfect.

Whenever I had a question the staff would go out of their way to answer it and potentially help me themselves depending on how busy things were. As a newcomer to Iriomote and someone who cannot speak Japanese this was really helpful, especially when it came to getting dinner, which usually required a reservation, and in my case, transport. The owners unfortunately do not speak English but their summer staff member is fluent, and when she wasn't available the owners still try very hard. I believe one of the two owners speaks French if that is an option for you!

The facilities are really well treated. Midway through my stay the high season finished up and I was offered to move to one of the rooms that had opened up. I opted to move from my one twin bed room to a tatami and futon room with a view of the mountains, super comfortable and beautiful. Coincidentally both of the rooms I stayed in had private bathrooms but keep in mind that as a guesthouse that isn't guaranteed and some use the shared bathroom. There is also a beautiful outdoor shower that I did not get a chance to use.

There are shared refrigerators on each floor and cheap beers and snacks available downstairs at any point. Breakfast is served every morning and varies slightly but always includes some start-your-day energies foods. The downstairs kitchen, deck and lawn out back and perfect places to relax, read, share a beer, watch distant storms or look...

We stayed for 7 nights over New Year and were so glad to have been there for the extended stay. Fortunately, we had the place to ourselves nearly the whole week. The room is very nice with a great view. All rooms should be about the same, on the second floor. The shared bathroom and shower worked very well for us, again we were nearly alone. ||The lady of the house is VERY hospitable and her staff are extremely friendly and helpful. She speaks French better than English. Each morning we had rice balls and eggs prepared for us as it was quiet and their main kitchen appeared closed.|| They helped book is a rental car and a very nice waterfall trek. In addition, we had a marvelous New Year dinner, local style, which connected us with others round the table and really touched our hearts. A treasurable moment!||Th island is very unique, slow down and take your time there. We searched for the elusive cat nightly, without luck, yet saw many other wildlife. A very special place we are privileged to have experienced so positively thanks to Villa HIRUGI. Book your stay with them, it will...