Fusaki Beach Resort Review: Is It Worth Booking for Your Ishigaki Trip?

Last Updated on July 9, 2026 by Kay

Going to Ishigaki and wondering if Fusaki Beach Resort Hotel & Villas is the right place to base your trip?

I visited Fusaki Beach Resort with my husband and six-year-old daughter and stayed there for two nights. Although I’ll share plenty about the family-friendly facilities, this review is for anyone considering a stay, including travelers without children.

Based on the official photos of the resort, my husband and I had high expectations. But whether those expectations were met is another story, which is why I thought I would write this honest and detailed review to help other people who are in the decision-making process.

Overall, the resort was lovely, but I wouldn’t stay there again or recommend it at the moment.

Now allow me to share why.

What It’s Like Staying at Fusaki Beach Resort

We traveled to Ishigaki in May, which is the off-season, and spent two nights at Fusaki Beach Resort.

One of the biggest reasons we decided on this resort was because, at the time we booked, it was the only one we found on the island with a splash pad for kids. The rest of the resort also looked stunning in the official photos, and it truly seemed like the perfect family getaway on Ishigaki.

We arrived at the hotel by rental car right around check-in, which is at 3 PM.

Unlike some other resort hotels in Japan, there was absolutely no line for checking in, so we were seen right away. This doesn’t mean that the resort was empty, though. In fact, when we booked about a month before our trip, we didn’t have much choice in terms of available rooms.

Interestingly, around half of the guests also appeared to be from abroad.

The Resort Is Massive

The resort itself is massive. It feels more like a small resort village than a typical hotel, with several accommodation areas, restaurants, pools, shops, and other facilities spread across the property.

These areas include Central Village, Garden Terrace, the Garden Villas, the Wellness Center, and the South Wing, which are shown in the map below.

As you can see in the image above, there is also a large outdoor pool, a children’s splash area, a beach, an indoor pool, a bathhouse, a gym, marine activities, restaurants, shops, Angel Pier, and a small animal area.

On the positive side, this means there is plenty to see and do. You could easily spend an entire day at the resort without leaving the property.

And if you forgot your bathing suit or need swim diapers, etc., they have a shop in Central Village that sells almost anything you need for a beach resort vacation. (And the prices aren’t inflated. In fact, the bathing suit prices are exactly the same as you’ll find if you purchased the same thing in a city like Osaka. I know because I checked when I was shopping for a new swimsuit last week!)

However, its size also means that you may need to walk quite a long distance to get from one area to another. This can be especially tiring when it’s hot and the resort carts aren’t available.

Although we stayed in May, we were sweating profusely whenever we needed to walk to the restaurants in the Wellness Center or to the small animal area near the South Wing, which I’ll cover later in the article.

It’s not all bad, though! There are so many places where you can take lovely photos, and of course the resort does a wonderful job blending nature and convenience.

We really appreciated the small souvenir shop called Terrace Shop, which is located between the South Wing and the Wellness Center, because we could escape the heat for a bit here while walking to the South Wing and back. It sells Okinawan snacks, drinks such as Orion beer, Blue Seal ice cream, sandals, and other practical items.

In fact, my daughter bought a pair of sandals there because she thought they were very cute and unlike anything she had seen in Osaka, where we live.

You can take a resort cart from the lobby to the South Wing and back again, but the carts are limited and usually need to be reserved in advance. You cannot just hop on an empty cart, which I saw some guests mistakenly do before being told they had to wait.

We often saw a line of guests waiting to use them, mainly people staying in the South Wing, and I don’t blame them because it is a long walk.

Personally, I wouldn’t recommend staying in the South Wing during warmer months unless you’re comfortable walking long distances in the heat or are prepared to wait for the cart.

Make sure you check the resort map and the location of your room before booking, as some rooms are quite far from the entrance, restaurants, pools, and beach.

At check-in, they asked us if we wanted to take the cart to our room, but we didn’t want to wait and decided to walk. This was completely fine since Garden Terrace is so close.

Our Garden Terrace room was much more centrally located, which made getting around the resort much easier.

Our Garden Terrace Standard Room

We stayed in a Garden Terrace Standard room, located in the Garden Terrace building. Below is a photo of what the Garden Terrace building looks like.

I really liked the location because it was right behind the pool and next to Central Village and the lobby. It was super convenient for getting to the pool, beach, Angel Pier, and the main restaurants. There were also washing machines and dryers right underneath our floor, so I could easily do laundry when I needed it.

Considering how large the resort is, I was very happy that we had chosen a centrally located room, although I would have liked to stay in one of the villas with a pool. None were available when we booked, unfortunately, and of course these villas are pricier.

Room Size, Layout, and Amenities

The room itself was extremely spacious and had plenty of room for our family of three to relax.

It had three separate beds, which were very comfortable.

There was also a seating area with a low table, a balcony, a small refrigerator, a coffee machine, and a kettle.

I also liked that the toilet was separate from the bathing area and spacious enough. If you’re a longtime reader of my blog, you know that’s always a must for me when traveling in Japan. Living here for almost two decades has spoiled me!

The bathroom had a bathtub and a separate shower area, and the room came with plenty of amenities.

We paid a little over 80,000 yen for two nights during the off-season, which I thought was very affordable considering the size of the room and all the facilities at the resort.

One thing to note is that they give you a large water bottle that you’re meant to fill yourself with distilled drinking water from a dispenser in the laundry room. This was a little annoying because it was annoying to carry due to its size.

However, I do appreciate that this helps protect our environment from unnecessary plastic trash. It would be nice if the resort would provide maybe two 500 ml bottles instead of a 1L bottle.

There were also large umbrellas available in the room in case it rained.

Privacy on the Second Floor

Our room was on the second floor and faced one of the main paths through the resort.

This made the location very convenient, but we had to close the curtains whenever we were changing because people walking past could see directly into the room.

This wasn’t a major problem for us, but it is something to keep in mind if you value privacy. I think privacy on the third floor (ocean view) is probably better.

The Mold Problem in Our Room

The main reason I wouldn’t stay here again, though, is because the room had mold in the walls, especially around the bathroom.

If you look carefully at the photo below, you can see the dark mold on the wall to the right of the sink.

It especially smelled like mold after we lowered the temperature on the air conditioner.

My husband noticed it first and told me when he came back to the pool area after grabbing something from the room. When we returned together, it didn’t seem that bad, but it gradually got worse throughout the day.

I then noticed the dark patches of mold behind the white wallpaper.

The hotel staff told us they could use some sort of treatment to get rid of the smell, a type of deodorizing steam, but we would have needed to repack all of our belongings and leave the room while they did it. At that point, we had already unpacked, and moving everything felt like too much of a hassle.

However, the smell was so strong that when I tried to sleep in the bed closest to the wall, I couldn’t stand it. I eventually had to move to another bed farther from the wall. It was that overpowering.

We asked whether we could move to another room, but a staff member told us that the other rooms would probably smell the same, as they all had mold!

For this reason, and this reason alone, unless the hotel changes the affected wallpaper and properly removes the mold, I cannot recommend staying here. It honestly seemed like a potential health hazard.

I want to emphasize that overall, I really liked this resort. The mold smell, though? I couldn’t overlook it. It was right in my face.

Maintenance and the Eco-Cleaning Option

There were a few other small maintenance issues as well.

Part of the side panel on the toilet came off, although it didn’t affect how the toilet worked and was easy to pop back into place.

Since the hotel was so affordable during the off-season, I was willing to overlook cosmetic issues like that.

The hotel also offers an eco-cleaning option where guests can receive a restaurant discount or coupon if they choose not to have their towels, bedsheets, and other items replaced.

I liked this idea and would have happily reused our towels. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough hooks or places to hang them properly, so I couldn’t take advantage of the service as much as I wanted to.

We ended up only using this service for one day and then used the coupon at Aqua Garden Cafe, a restaurant near the pool.

I think adding a few hooks to the room would have made a big difference.

Pools and Water Facilities

The outdoor pool area was the highlight of the resort for our entire family.

The Outdoor Pools

There is a large main pool surrounded by palm trees, sun loungers, and umbrellas.

I also liked how late the pool stayed open because it meant we didn’t need to rush back after sightseeing.

The staff were strict about parents being in the pool with children, though. A parent always needed to be in the water with their child, although I assume they make exceptions for older teenagers.

The pool area could get busy, and I found that there wasn’t that much room to properly swim when there were lots of people. Instead of three smaller pools, it would have been nicer if they had just made one big pool.

You also couldn’t really see the beach from the pool and only a sliver of the ocean, which was blocked by loungers, which was a shame. (Maybe taller people would be able to see the ocean better; I’m quite short.)

The resort did have a night pool for adults, though, with large glowing balls floating in the water. It looked pretty fun, although we didn’t use it. (No pictures because it’s creepy to take photos of young Japanese women in bikinis in a pool.)

The Children’s Splash Area

The children’s splash area had slides, fountains, a large tipping bucket, and a mushroom-shaped waterfall. Needless to say, it was massive and kids loved it.

Ironically, despite the splash area being one of the main reasons we booked the resort, our daughter ended up preferring the regular pool and she would have happily spent most of our Ishigaki trip there.

I kind of don’t blame her, though, because the tube slides kind of hurt! (After she told me, I tested it out for myself.)

Also, the splash area closes right at 6 PM, or at least it did when we stayed in May. One thing I liked, though, was that when they closed it for the day at 6 PM sharp, the bucket was full and ready to tip over. Kids were waiting patiently for it to tip, so the staff turned everything back on again to let the kiddos get splashed on one more time. It was so sweet and really brought a smile to my face, especially since staff in Japan usually always follow rules and don’t make exceptions.

The Indoor Pool and Bathhouse

The resort has a building called the Wellness Center, which contains an indoor pool, public bath, gym, and other facilities.

The indoor pool is especially helpful if the weather is bad. It was reassuring to know that our daughter could still swim if it rained.

There is also a public bath in the Wellness Center. Like at a typical Japanese onsen or public bath, you need to be completely naked before entering the bathing area. Towels are available from the front desk. There’s a jacuzzi, an indoor bath and an outdoor bath. None of the baths had a view of the ocean.

I liked being able to spend the day at the pool, take a change of clothes with me to the bathhouse, and then refresh with a bath before dinner. Some guests even changed into their hotel pajamas after bathing.

Watch Out for the Crows

There were lots of crows around the pool and beach area, and they were not shy. They would take food or even belongings if guests weren’t paying attention.

During our stay, I saw one crow fly away with a package of gummies and another grab a pair of swimming goggles! This meant we had to keep an eye on our belongings, especially when eating outside or swimming.

Fusaki Beach, Angel Pier, and Marine Activities

Fusaki Beach

The beach was beautiful and very easy to get to, as it was less than a minute away from the pool. There was a netted swimming area to help protect swimmers from jellyfish, which are a particular concern in Okinawa during the warmer months.

The water was clear and warm, but there was a lot of coral beneath, so I strongly recommend wearing beach or water shoes if you plan to swim.

We spent more time at the pool because that was what our daughter preferred.

Fishies at Angel Pier!

My daughter absolutely loved seeing all the fish at Angel Pier, which is about a five-minute walk from the pool area, and did not want to leave.

The water was incredibly clear, and the fish were so colorful.

You can also do catch-and-release fishing from the pier, although we chose not to because I find it cruel to catch fish purely for entertainment. I feel differently if someone is fishing for food, which was not the case here.

For us, simply watching the fish was more than enough.

My husband also really liked the Angel Pier and said it was his favorite area at the resort.

You can ring a bell here, too, which my daughter loved to do!

Marine Activities and Tours

The resort offers a variety of marine activities directly from the beach, including snorkeling and glass-bottom boat tours.

When we asked a staff member about the glass-bottom boat tour, they honestly told us that the tour at Kabira Bay was better because the water was clearer and there was a greater variety of fish.

So we decided to do the Kabira Bay tour instead.

The resort also offers tours to places such as Iriomote Island, but we didn’t join one because we didn’t have enough time, and we thought it would be a bit much for our daughter, who mainly wanted to enjoy the pool.

Restaurants at Fusaki Beach Resort

There are several restaurants and cafes throughout the resort.

Breakfast was included with our stay and was available at two restaurants: Ryukyu Shintenchi and Ishigaki Bold Kitchen.

Ryukyu Shintenchi

Ryukyu Shintenchi serves Okinawan and Chinese dishes.

Personally, I thought the food here tasted better than at Ishigaki Bold Kitchen, although the selection was smaller. Here’s what you can expect to find:

We also had dinner at Ryukyu Shintenchi, and it was amazing. I highly recommend the unusual taco rice with Agu pork tonkatsu. It was absolutely delicious!

The alcoholic drinks are also very good here, much better than at the Star Bar.

Both breakfast restaurants had a wait when we arrived, but the wait for Ryukyu Shintenchi was longer. However, I appreciated that there was a waiting room there that had chairs and free Okinawan Jasmine tea (sanpincha) that we could enjoy while waiting.

Ishigaki Bold Kitchen

Ishigaki Bold Kitchen is a large buffet restaurant with a wide selection of Japanese and Western dishes.

The selection was great, although I thought the taste was fairly standard for a large hotel buffet.

Both Ryukyu Shintenchi and Ishigaki Bold Kitchen have free baby food available as well, meant for babies 7 months to 12 months old.

Overall, I preferred the taste of the food at Ryukyu Shintenchi but liked the larger selection at Ishigaki Bold Kitchen.

Aqua Garden Cafe

While we were at the pool, I walked over to Aqua Garden Cafe and ordered one of their burgers (the regular one, not the Ishigaki gyu). It was delicious, and my daughter was a huge fan.

On another day, I just ordered fries and an Orion beer, which is local to Okinawa, and took everything back to the pool area.

They give you a buzzer to let you know when your food is ready. However, don’t wander too far away because ours started buzzing even though the order wasn’t ready yet.

The Star Bar

The Star Bar is located near the pool. You can either enjoy drinks at the bar or take it to your lounger. There is no swim-up bar.

My daughter enjoyed getting kakigori, or shaved ice, here.

However, I wasn’t impressed by the alcoholic drinks. I tried two, a habu tonic and a shima mojito, and they both tasted watery and didn’t seem to contain much alcohol. The drink from Ryukyu Shintenchi was much better. Maybe it depends on the bartender you get?

I even overheard a North American woman asking whether she could have an extra shot in her drink, and I didn’t blame her. I’m not sure whether she got it, though.

Beachside Grill

We didn’t try the Beachside Grill, where guests can grill their own Ishigaki beef.

We had read reviews saying the menu had changed and was no longer worth the cost, so we decided to eat in town instead.

Hanare

Hanare is apparently one of the resort’s higher-end restaurants, but it is also very expensive. Reservations are a must.

For all restaurants other than Aqua Garden Cafe, you could make a reservation online at the time of our stay.

Is Fusaki Beach Resort Kid-Friendly?

Fusaki Beach Resort is absolutely kid-friendly!

As mentioned earlier, the main reason we chose this resort was because of its children’s splash pad. At the time we booked, it was the only resort we found on Ishigaki with a splash pad or water playground for children.

We thought our daughter would love the splash pad, so it seemed like an easy choice.

The resort also has a large outdoor pool, a kids’ room, children’s activities, and several room types designed specifically for families with babies or toddlers.

There was also a separate shallow pool for younger children. Below is a photo where you can see how shallow it is.

There is a small outdoor playground next to the splash area as well.

If you need floaties or sand toys, the resort allows you to borrow them for free.

Our room had pajamas for adults, but you can also get children’s pajamas in several sizes from the front desk.

They also provided children’s amenities like a toothbrush and a cute bear sponge.

During our stay, the majority of guests seemed to be families with children. We visited right after Golden Week, while school was still in session in Japan, and there were still lots of kids.

This is a great resort for families who want to spend most of their trip swimming, relaxing, and enjoying the hotel facilities.

Family Rooms for Babies and Toddlers

At the time of our visit, the hotel had several room types specifically designed for families with young children.

These included:

• Family Room with Nature for Babies, which has a crib and a disco ball that projects star-like lights onto the walls
• Villa Family Room, which includes children’s books and toys
• Family Room with Tatami Area – Garden Terrace, which has wooden toys, a potty ring, and a bath chair

The Family Room with Tatami Area seems especially suitable for toddlers.

AYAPANI Kids Room and Children’s Activities

The resort has a children’s room called AYAPANI where babies from six months old and children up to age six can play with staff and take part in activities and crafts, so basically a day care or babysitting service.

This is meant to give parents a break from their kids for a while.

We considered using it, but our daughter refused to go inside without us, so we decided against it.

AYAPANI costs an additional fee, and you need to visit on the day to ask whether they have availability. At the time of our stay, they did not accept advance reservations.

There was also a playroom that children up to age twelve can use and play with toys, or do crafts for an additional fee. However, children must be accompanied by their parents. This seems like a great place for kids to go if it’s raining. Our kid was too obsessed with the pool, so we didn’t use it. Also, the toys appeared to be geared more toward babies, toddlers, and younger preschoolers than older children.

Animal Square

Animal Square is located near the South Wing.

The area had a goat, a parrot, and a large tortoise. My daughter enjoyed seeing the animals, but overall, I found the area disappointing and a bit sad.

It was such a small space for three animals.

Guests can pay an additional fee to enter and feed them, but we decided against it.

The animal experience was only available twice a day during our stay, and the schedule was posted on a board between Garden Terrace and Central Village.

Animal Square is far from the pool, so give yourself plenty of time to walk there.

Is Fusaki Beach Resort Good for Adults?

As mentioned earlier, there were lots of families at the resort. If you’re looking for somewhere quiet or more geared toward adults, this probably isn’t the right place for you.

One thing we noticed was that we could really hear the children in the room next to us, who stayed up quite late and woke up very early. If I didn’t have a child myself, I would probably have been bothered by this. (I only have one kid, though, and she’s very quiet.)

However, the resort does have an adult-only night pool. So if you still want to stay here without kids, I would recommend sightseeing during the day and enjoying the resort in the evening.

I didn’t see many kids at the beach either, so that might be a more chill place to relax.

Also, try to stay in a villa if possible; it will probably be quieter, especially since the child-friendly rooms are in the Garden Terrace.

From my experience, I believe staying in ANA Intercontinental Resort Ishigaki‘s Bay Wing is the better choice for an adults-only trip. 

Location and Transportation

Fusaki Beach Resort is somewhat in the middle of nowhere.

There are restaurants and shops within the resort, but there isn’t much within easy walking distance outside the property.

For this reason, I think it is better to have a rental car, especially if you plan to explore other parts of Ishigaki.

The parking area can also be quite far from some of the rooms.

Without a car, you may find yourself relying heavily on the resort’s restaurants, tours, and shuttle services.

Pros and Cons of Fusaki Beach Resort

What We Liked

The strongest parts of the resort were:

• The large outdoor pools
• The children’s splash area
• The beautiful beach
• Angel Pier and the colorful fish
• The spacious room
• The convenient Garden Terrace location
• The indoor pool
• The bathhouse
• The variety of restaurants
• The family-friendly facilities
• The late pool hours
• The resort grounds at night

The resort was also very affordable for what it offered during the low season.

What We Didn’t Like

The biggest problems were:

• The overpowering mold smell in our room
• What appeared to be mold around the bathroom area
• The enormous size of the resort
• Long walks in the heat
• Limited shuttle carts
• The distance to the South Wing and Animal Square
• Watery alcoholic drinks at the Star Bar
• Crows taking food and belongings
• The disappointing animal area
• Not enough hooks for drying towels
• Some maintenance issues in the room

So, Is Fusaki Beach Resort Worth Staying At?

Fusaki Beach Resort has many things going for it.

It is one of the most family-friendly resorts we have visited in Japan, and our daughter absolutely loved the pools, beach, and fish at Angel Pier.

The room was spacious, the Garden Terrace location was convenient, and the resort offered enough activities and facilities that families could easily spend an entire day without leaving the property.

However, the mold smell in our room was overpowering.

When we asked to move, we were told that the other rooms would probably smell the same. That made the problem feel much bigger than an issue affecting only one room.

For this reason, and this reason alone, I cannot recommend Fusaki Beach Resort unless the hotel properly removes the mold and renovates the affected rooms.

I would happily return for the pool, beach, restaurants, and Angel Pier, but I would not sleep in that room again.

Think Fusaki Beach Resort might still be the right fit for your Ishigaki trip? (I mean, you won’t really know until you go yourself, right?)

You can check the latest prices, room options, and availability here before booking. I recommend looking at the resort map as well so you can choose a room in a more convenient location.

Personally, I enjoyed my stay at ANA Intercontinental Resort Ishigaki more.

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