Awashima Hotel

Awashima Hotel is an island resort for divers who like their evenings quiet, their dinner properly organised and their view free of traffic. The setting is deliberately removed from the mainland: you arrive by boat, then settle into a 60-room hotel spread across seven floors, with the sea doing most of the talking.

English-speaking staff make the arrival easier for international guests. The hotel also has an English-language website, alongside Japanese, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Arabic and Indonesian. The atmosphere is more slow-breathing island retreat than lively resort base. That suits you if the plan is simple: get back, wash off the salt, take a bath, eat well and watch the light go down over the bay.

The hotel is in Numazu, Japan, on an island in Suruga Bay. The mainland crossing takes about five minutes by shuttle boat, while the journey from JR Mishima Station includes a shuttle bus of about 30 minutes before you board the boat. From Tokyo, the complete journey is described as taking around 90 minutes.

Numazu city centre is about 4 miles away, but this is not a city-base hotel with an island view added as an afterthought. The island setting is the point. Sea views run through the property, and the position across the bay gives you a clear outlook towards Mount Fuji when conditions allow. Airport transfers and station transfers are available through the hotel, with the boat crossing forming part of the arrival rather than an optional sightseeing extra.

The room choice is mainly about how much view and breathing space you want, rather than finding a complicated list of clever labels. Standard rooms cover the practical end, with private bathrooms, and many have a balcony, bath and slippers. Double rooms are available with either a double bed or twin beds, while quadruple rooms give groups and families more room to organise themselves without conducting a luggage-management exercise in the corridor.

For a couple, a sea-view room with a balcony is the obvious direction if the view matters more than extra formality. Suites step things up with balconies in several categories, private bathrooms, safes, towels and toiletries; some also face the ocean or garden. A suite with two bedrooms is available for a group that values doors between sleeping spaces. Solo travellers also have single rooms and single suites, so you do not have to pay for a room designed around a larger party.

Air conditioning is available at the hotel, while the detailed room facilities vary by category. Televisions and slippers are part of the practical room set-up, and the more fully equipped ocean-view balcony suite adds blackout blinds, soundproofing, heating, Wi-Fi, bottled water and a television. The useful detail is the private bath found across many room categories: after a long day in a wetsuit, having your own bath matters more than another decorative cushion.

Dinner has two distinct routes. Island serves French cuisine, including a full-course dinner built around fish from Suruga Bay and fresh ingredients from the Izu region. Kai serves Japanese cuisine. Both restaurants look out over the sea, with sunset forming part of the evening rather than something you need to chase down the coast.

Breakfast is available, and the hotel also has a bar for the drink that usually follows a day spent thinking about decompression tables. Room service is available when you would rather eat privately, perhaps with the balcony door open and the sea doing the background work.

The meal arrangement depends on the room booking, so check the board details before choosing a package. The useful distinction here is not a long restaurant roster: it is the choice between a serious French dinner using local produce and a Japanese dinner, both in a sea-facing setting.

The main recovery tool is Awashima Onsen, the hotel’s natural hot spring. It has an outdoor bath surrounded by rock and a spacious indoor bath, both arranged around wide views across the sea. On a clear day, Mount Fuji rises across Suruga Bay; on a less cooperative day, the water and the sound of the waves still give you somewhere sensible to put your tired legs.

Massage and spa facilities are available for guests who prefer treatment to simply soaking. There is also a garden and terrace, useful for a slow wander or a seat with a book when the idea of another organised activity has lost its appeal. Fishing is available for something more active, although nobody will confuse it with a second dive.

The hotel also provides access facilities, including a lift and wheelchair-accessible areas, with an accessible restaurant. For a couple travelling together, the island works best at the unhurried end of the scale: hot spring, garden, sunset and dinner, in that order if the day has gone well.

Arrival is by shuttle boat, with the crossing arranged through the hotel. A shuttle service connects the property with JR Mishima Station, and airport transfers are also available. If you are driving, parking is available. The hotel has 24-hour reception, Wi-Fi, luggage storage, concierge services and a safe, so the practical business of arriving with dive bags and travel kit is covered without much ceremony.

Check-in runs from 3 pm to 8 pm, and check-out is at 11 am. Guests aged 12 and under are not admitted, which makes the hotel a better match for adults looking for a quieter base than for a family holiday with younger children. Breakfast is available, but the exact meal arrangement depends on the booking selected.

The property is accessible by lift, with wheelchair-accessible facilities and a wheelchair-accessible restaurant. Payment is accepted by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Diners Club, JCB and cash. Japan uses 100-volt electricity with Type A and Type B sockets, and the electrical frequency is 50 or 60 Hz depending on the area. Pack the right adaptor; the sea view will not charge your phone for you.