About Umino24
One of the World Cultural Heritage sites,Sefa-utaki lies in Chinen, Nanjo City.
This sacred place is rooted in the creation myths of Ryukyu.
Step away from the rush of everyday life, and embrace the gentle flow of time here.
Relax into the island’s rhythm
Nanjō City lies in the southern part of Okinawa’s main island, facing the Pacific Ocean to the east and embraced by both sea and mountains, offering beautiful natural scenery.
It is also home to cultural treasures, including many sacred sites such as Sefa Utaki, the most revered sanctuary of the Ryukyu Kingdom.
Come and discover Nanjō — where the sea, greenery, and ancient traditions invite you to a retreat that heals both body and soul.
We hope you will unwind as if at home, within the comfort of a traditional Okinawan house.
About the House
Umino 24 is a traditional Okinawan house built in 1959, located in a quiet village near the fishing port of Umino in Nanjō City.
While Okinawa is well known for its red roof tiles, cement tiles were also once commonly used.
Now impossible to reproduce, the house’s rare cement-tiled roof is one of its most distinctive features.
Traditional Okinawan homes are full of clever designs “Fūsui” (feng shui) and “Kasō” (house divination) to capture natural wind and light in times before modern facilities.
At Umino 24, the floor plan based on these traditions has been preserved as much as possible, while blending in a modern lifestyle.
Please enjoy a space that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly new.
▲ The eave extended on the south side functions as “amahaji”, mitigating the intrusion of Okinawa’s strong sunlight and rain into the interior.
Okinawa Stories
Hello and welcome.
We’re a husband and wife who run a small architecture studio, and over the years we’ve helped create many homes and shops.
While we love modern and refined spaces, we’ve always been drawn to the warmth and nostalgia of old Japanese houses.
About twenty years ago, we dreamed of turning a traditional home with a cement-tile roof into our office, but we couldn’t find one back then.
Years later, we discovered this long-abandoned house in Chinen, Nanjo City — close to where our ancestors rest — and instantly felt it was meant to be.
As we restored it together, we learned that no factories making cement tiles remained in Okinawa.
That’s when we decided to open this guesthouse, hoping to share the simple, nostalgic charm of these disappearing homes with others.
We hope you’ll feel at home here, and enjoy the quiet warmth of this special place.
Seaside nostalgic and modern a vacation house
Nanjō City Tourism Portal Site
Okinawa Travel Guide
Stay in a renovated
traditional Okinawan house.
