Hotel Shigira Mirage Beachfront

Shigira Beach right in front, and a "live here" resort with a kitchen in every room

Hotel Shigira Mirage Beachfront is a resort hotel on the south coast of Miyakojima that opened in February 2024. Shigira Beach, the symbol of Shigira Seven Miles Resort, spreads out right in front of it, and in room searches the hotel is classified as "adjacent to the beach."

For families, the hotel's real strength is that every guest room comes with a high-grade kitchen and a living-dining area. The concept is a stay where you live as if in your own residence. Even the smallest room, the Deluxe Twin, has a total area of 55-61 sq m (43 sq m indoors plus a 12-18 sq m terrace), and in-room equipment runs to a large refrigerator, a washer-dryer, a convection microwave oven, a humidifying air purifier, a kettle, a drying rack, and kitchen and cooking utensils. Being able to run a load of laundry and heat up what you have brought with you is the kind of equipment that counts for more the longer you stay.

93 rooms across three floor categories

• Deluxe Floor (floors 2-4, 54 rooms): Deluxe Twin (55-61 sq m, 9 rooms), Deluxe Large Twin (63 sq m, 12 rooms), Deluxe Suite (71-73 sq m, 21 rooms), Deluxe Corner Suite (101-138 sq m, 12 rooms). All are one-bedroom rooms for 1 to 2 guests
• Premier Floor (floors 5-10, 37 rooms): from the one-bedroom Premier Corner Suite (103 sq m) to the two-bedroom Premier Suite (140-150 sq m), Premier Corner Suite (147 sq m), Premier Deluxe Suite (179 sq m) and Premier Deluxe Corner Suite (196-231 sq m). The two-bedroom rooms sleep 1 to 4 guests
• Grand Premier Floor (2 rooms): Top of Grand Premier on the top floor, the 11th (416 sq m, 1 to 4 guests, with a private pool, two bedrooms, three bathrooms, a sauna and a jetted tub), and the Garden Pool Suite on the first floor (364 sq m, 1 to 4 guests, with a private pool, a jetted tub and a day bed)

Rooms on the Deluxe Floor sleep only 1 to 2 guests, so a family of three or more sharing one room needs to choose a two-bedroom room on the Premier Floor or above. This is worth confirming before you book.

A year-round pool, and a discount at the resort's onsen

The hotel's beachfront pool, for hotel guests only, is heated and can be used all year round. Being able to get in the water even in a Miyakojima winter is a real advantage on a family trip, when you cannot always choose the season. On top of that, as a room benefit you can use the two adjoining luxury pools free of charge (the main pool and the seaside pool at the Shigira Beachside Pool).

The resort also has the Shigira Garden Pool, with three pools large and small, along with cabanas with jetted tubs and a sauna and blower bath.

Shigira Ogon Onsen is a day-use natural onsen with a source temperature of 50°C and a yield of 800 tons a day. The jungle pool, which the family enters wearing swimsuits, is kept warm all year. Staying guests can use it at a special discount as a room benefit. Children of elementary school age and under must be accompanied by a guardian. Rentals of indoor wear and swimsuits are for adults only (510 yen each), with no children's sizes available for rent. Whether children who are not yet out of diapers may enter the baths or the jungle pool is not stated, so please inquire in advance.

The resort's activity booking site takes reservations for programs held within the resort that children can join, including a trampoline experience, Grand mini golf, snorkeling tours, kayaking and the Nansei Rakuen night-sky viewing tour.

Practical notes for families, and a few honest caveats

On the booking screen, junior high school students and older pay the adult rate, while elementary school children and children under school age (with futon bedding and meals, or without either) are counted in separate categories. Children under school age cannot be booked for futon bedding only or meals only. The resort revised its rules on children co-sleeping for stays from April 1, 2023 onward, so if your child will be co-sleeping, please check the current rules before booking.

There is no listing for crib or stroller rentals, baby food, or a playroom. With a kitchen and a washer-dryer in every room, the layout does make it easy to manage with what you bring, but plan on packing whatever you need.

Check-in is from 3 p.m. to midnight, and checkout is at 11 a.m. Parking is free, with 23 spaces. A shuttle bus runs from Miyako Airport, with reception at the airport counter from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., and a free shuttle bus gets you around the resort. The Rakuten Travel rating is 4.55 out of 5 (128 reviews).