We highly recommend Royal Rhiga Gran Okinawa hotel. It has a superb location with a commanding view of the port and the surrounding area, our suite was grand in its size, comfort and outlook, yet the highlight for us was the extraordinary level of personalized service we enjoyed. Travelling in Japan, we have become accustomed to experiencing warm hospitality and very good service, yet this hotel has taken it a step further in creating an environment where you are made to feel special and your needs are met, before you ask.
Unlike most hotels, the check in area is on the top floor. At the ground level, a concierge welcomes you and parks your vehicle…but in our case, our trikes (more on that later) and then you ascend to the top floor by elevator to check in. You are greeted by a spectacular view, a lounge with floor to ceiling windows, an amenity bar with coffee, beverages and amenities for your room. The check in gave us a sense of how special our stay was going to be….seated in comfortable chairs at a desk, where we enjoyed a welcome drink and snacks. Having been on the road for 3 months, we feel conspicuous in our cycling clothes and panniers instead of luggage, yet this does not affect how they treat us.
Lovely Okinawan glass pieces on display at the check in area.
Amenity bars at hotels are always fun for us. Most hotel rooms have amenities in the room as well as this in the lobby. This one offers a lot more with quality facial and bathing products, as well as coffee and cold infused water. We will miss this when we leave Japan, as well as the provided robes and lounge wear for the room.
It was our good fortune to have Toru Kinjo assigned to us. He mentionned that he would be working all the days of our stay and he would be looking out for us. First he gave us a tour, escorted us to our room, then he helped Barry deal with the trikes.
Toru Kinjo has made our stay special at this hotel.
Toru came up with a wonderful solution for storing our trikes…simply bring them up on the elevator and put them in the lobby. We didn’t expect this, but when we thought about it, our experience in Japan has been that nice hotels have typically been the most flexible and generous in housing our trikes. To our surprise, he had also come up with a special spot for them during the day, and when we got up, he had already moved them. The best thing though was that he reserved a parking space for us outside to pack up our trikes. During our 3 night stay, we were never able to get ahead of the most efficient Toru and the staff. Our trikes were always moved up or down before we could offer our assistance.
We have had a dilemma of how to reach the airport with our trikes. We had been unsuccessful in our search for an oversized taxi so we decided our easiest option was to take the monorail. After checking out, we were enjoying a cup of coffee in the lounge before heading out, when suddenly Toru appeared and asked us to join him downstairs. To our surprise he had sourced large taxis with oversized cargo space and had ordered 2 taxis, just in case. When we went down, we could not believe it…he and the driver had already successfully loaded both trikes and our panniers in one taxi. It all makes sense now…yesterday, Toru had checked in with us about our plans and we recall that he had looked disturbed that we were serious about taking the monorail. Thanks to his behind the scenes efforts, we have just experienced a masterclass in Japanese hospitality which comes from a place of honour, respect and service. No tipping…all you can do is gracefully accept and express your gratitude with a bow.
Toru grinning in delight at surprising with his good deed of finding a taxi for us.
Note the white lace covers on the seats of the taxi….this is typical of all taxis here. When I arrived, the driver was placing a lovely, white damask cloth over the lace where my trike was being placed. Yikes.
Barry’s trike. The driver had successfully loaded both trikes without getting bike grease on himself, Toru or the white seat covers. How did he do that?
Our taxi driver successfully loaded both trikes without getting bike grease on himself or the white seat covers. How did he do that? Barry’s t-shirt is from a Rinkul Soba Cafe in Chatan town…the best Soba we had in Okinawa. (Ramen soup is a staple in most of Japan, but in Okinawa, Soba is the staple).
It is such a small world, it seems. Barry noticed these two women with 3 cat carriers between them and of course he went over to investigate. It turns out these two women are flying to Tokyo to find fosters for these 3 kittens. To our surprise, they told us that they recognized us as they had seen us riding around Naha.
ANA has been very kind providing us with transport in the airports, which even extended to Vancouver. After riding for 3 months in Japan, I feel like a bit of a fraud…but walking presents challenges unlike riding my trike.
Ron SeguinYou managed to come home during the only cold snap of the winter!
Are you already planning a return trip?
I think you would enjoy a longer stay in Hokkaido. I spent 4 weeks there last September. The scenery way up north is superb, as are the campgrounds.
Thanks for the journal. I'll be borrowing ideas from it for my upcoming trip. I'm headed to Fukuoka April 9 for a month in Kyushu. Reply to this comment 2 months ago
Our taxi driver who picked us up at the airport, gave us good advice. He told us that another storm is coming tonight with more snow and he said that he would not work tomorrow. We watched the storm build and we were lucky to get our room for a second night.
We think of our reentry to Canada from Japan as counter culture shock. We certainly experienced this at Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. Our interactions with ferry employees ranged from levels of indifference, rudeness to misinformation. We have lived in the Gulf Islands for a long time and know well how the ferry system works. Perhaps it was the bad weather making things worse. We experienced an aggressive worker who insisted we go to an area that we knew was wrong, yet he refused to help when we were directed, once again aggressively, to leave this area and go elsewhere. The ferry crew would not respond to us when we asked for help with navigating the car deck over multiple trips with our trikes and bags….that is, until the sole female crew member, came over to offer her assistance. As Toto might have said, “we’re not in Japan anymore!”
We are both wearing multiple layers to try to stay warm.
We have seen amazing things in our travels, but nothing eclipses the beautiful sight of our friend Chris and his red truck, coming through the snow to give us and our trikes a ride home. Arigato domo Chris.
Eva WaltersThank you for your great journal. It was wonderful to be able to follow along with you and vicariously enjoy the amazing Japanese hospitality and food. Al and I are wondering what you did with your trike batteries since you can't take them on the plane. Are you shipping them home separately or did you leave them in Japan for another trip? Reply to this comment 2 months ago
Rich FrasierAn amazing journal of an amazing trip. I can't express how much I've enjoyed both of your Japan journals. I really feel like you've shown a side of the country that we would never see any other way. Thanks so much! Reply to this comment 2 months ago
Barry BartlettTo Eva WaltersWe leave our batteries with Yoshi in Osaka. Yoshi owns the recumbent shop in Osaka where we bought the batteries from. We plan to return to Japan for another trip in October. Thanks for reading our journal. Reply to this comment 2 months ago
Barry BartlettTo Rich FrasierWow, really appreciate your interest and comments. It is our pleasure to share such wonderful experiences and our impressions of a place we love. We plan to return in the fall. Reply to this comment 2 months ago
