About a minute’s drive from Naha Airport. Located in Yagihara, Kitanakagusuku Village in the central part of Okinawa’s main island, the hotel is a renovated building from the American colonial era. With a garage, it looks like a motel in the middle of the American desert! You can immerse yourself in the world of a good old-fashioned road movie!
Point 1: Is it hard to tell from the map alone? What is the location of “SPICE MOTEL OKINAWA”?
SPICE MOTEL OKINAWA” is a motel located in Kitanakagusuku Village in central Okinawa Island.
An architectural firm in Osaka renovated a tasteful building built during the American colonial period. All rooms have garages and have the taste of an American motel.
Above the guest rooms is a terrace where you can enjoy the greenery of Kitanakagusuku Village and also enjoy a rooftop bath by reservation.
It takes about 37 minutes from Naha Airport by car.
By bus, take Ryukyu Bus No. 190, which also goes via Kokusai-dori, and get off at “Yagihara” and walk for 10 minutes.
As you can see on the map, the road from the Yagihara bus stop is cut off in the middle, so we inquired about it and were told that it is only accessible via the road where Hotel Lycoming is located.
From the bus stop “Yagihara,” the path has quite a few ups and downs, and the 10-minute walk was somewhat strenuous.
Along the way, there were “SPICE MOTEL” signs at various places, and we followed them.
The end of the pylon was the hotel, where it dead-ended.
A building that looks like a motel from an American road movie appears! First, check-in at the administration building in the front.
You will be presented with a Sata Andagi and shown to your room.
Point 2: “SPICE MOTEL OKINAWA” rooms!
SPICE MOTEL OKINAWA“ has double bedrooms, twin bedrooms, and the ”Black Room“ and ”Red Room” where we stayed this time.
The “Black Room” and “Red Room” are decorated in the same way as they were when the motel was first established, giving them a mid-century feel that I found irresistible.
The rooms at SPICE MOTEL OKINAWA do not have televisions, and the atmosphere is enhanced by the AFN (American Forces Broadcasting Network) radio broadcast from the U.S. military base just around the corner.
The music selection ranged from the recently popular “APT.” to Western music from the 70s and 80s such as ‘Blondie’ and “Billy Idol,” as well as oldies like “Elvis Presley.
Having listened to a lot of Western music since I was a student, I couldn’t help but get into the groove.
If there had been a TV in the room, I might not have been able to feel the extraordinary atmosphere.
I did some research and found that there is now an application called “AFN Go” that allows you to listen to AFN around the world, in addition to AM radio (810MHZ) as in the past. You can also listen via the website.
It’s an amazing evolution, even though I had a hard time tuning in to AFN (FEN at the time) AM radio when I was a student.
The only problem was that the building was not recent, so there was no USB port, and unfortunately I had only one AC adapter with me, and the outlet was located high up, so I had to use a trash can and a bottle of Sanbincha (three-pin tea) to charge the battery.
You never know what you will find on a trip, and you often have to use your head, which you don’t usually use!
Point 3: What are the facilities and amenities at SPICE MOTEL OKINAWA?
The “Black Room” in which I stayed had a bathtub.
The bathtub was small for a foreigner, and one side was slanted, which was a strange shape that was different from Japanese bathtubs.
I felt the age of the bathtub with a soap dispenser and a water handle.
The only amenities were cotton swabs, cotton wool, and toothbrushes. Bath amenities included shampoo, conditioner, and body wash.
Also, there was no room for clothes, so please bring your own.
The tiled flooring and enamel washbasin may seem old-fashioned nowadays, but it may look fresh to young people.
The round building next to the accommodation building of “SPICE MOTEL OKINAWA” is a “shared lounge” where coffee and Sanpincha (three-pin tea) are available for free.
Alcoholic beverages in the refrigerator and snacks on the shelf on the right were charged, and you had to “self-report” your room number and what you bought on the memo paper provided, and you could either put money in or pay with PayPay.
In the back is the kitchen, which has a microwave oven, toaster oven, and refrigerator.
The only appliance in the room is an air conditioner, so we use this shared kitchen.
This is a sink. The faucet and the shape of the sink give an American feel.
Next to the kitchen was a washing machine and dryer (100 yen charge). The washer and dryer were made in Japan, but the detergent was made in the U.S.
Such details in creating an atmosphere will make the guests more excited to stay at the hotel!
Spice Motel Okinawa,” a good old American motel-like hotel in Kitanakagusuku Village in the central part of Okinawa’s main island, is truly a wonderful hotel that reminded me of a road movie I saw one day, and I was able to feel an extraordinary experience.
Although I did not use it this time, I heard that there is an open-top bus on the rooftop by reservation only, so I would definitely like to use it next time I am in the area.
