KARIN Design Cottage

On my first trip to Okinawa I stayed at this guesthouse, which had two large rooms, one of them in a separate building. The owner supplied ingredients for breakfast, and guests could make their own food if they reserved in advance. The only tricky part was finding my way around the neighborhood from the main road. I had to walk around a few times before I got used to it.

The garden and spacious rooms are for private use, and there's room to have a barbecue outside. I found the bath especially relaxing because it's so roomy. With free Wi-Fi and plenty of facilities, it was comfortable even for a stay of several nights.

With five of us, we had just two regular beds and the other sleeping spots were folding mattresses. The facilities felt dated, and the heater made the air stuffy. Turning it off meant the blankets felt a little cold at night. My last place was so much nicer by comparison, which made this stay a bit disappointing.

It's a large place where you can sleep on the floor throughout the house, and the facilities are all there. The solid wood gives it a nice look and a pleasant woody smell. The owner was kind and even gave us sweet potato cakes to take away, and email replies came quickly. Finding it by car at night was the one hassle, since there's no sign outside. It's past a small hotel called Pool, which is brightly lit.