Awaji Aquamarine Resort

We had the whole place to ourselves, which made it feel much safer and easier with kids. The separate annex means there are effectively two houses, so it worked really well for two families traveling together. We’re planning to bring both families next time. There’s even room for a charcoal barbecue, despite the compact setup. The house sits at the end of a steep mountain road branching off the coastal road. Google Maps suggested a very narrow right turn, so we ignored it and kept going straight. From the annex, you can see the ocean from the mountain-facing room. The outside looks like a regular old house, but inside it’s clean and has dishes, an induction cooktop, a frying pan, and a microwave. It felt like staying in a friend’s place.

I’m not going back, and I want other people to know what happened. No check-in email arrived, and my calls on the morning of check-in went unanswered. More than two hours after the scheduled time, I finally got a call through Rakuten Travel. They showed no remorse and said they had sent the email, then that it hadn’t gone through because I’d written my email address incorrectly.

We were able to unwind because the whole place was ours and we didn’t have to worry about disturbing anyone. We stayed as a family, and that was especially helpful with our young children.