Jusandi

“Outstanding staff and chef!”

Jusandi is 5 star in every aspect. The attentive service, the stunning accommodations, the lush landscape, everything is top notch. We decided to visit Ishigaki for our honeymoon, and the highlights included the infinity private pool, the incredibly sweet and attentive staff, and the chef’s nightly… more

Jusandi is 5 star in every aspect. The attentive service, the stunning accommodations, the lush landscape, everything is top notch. We decided to visit Ishigaki for our honeymoon, and the highlights included the infinity private pool, the incredibly sweet and attentive staff, and the chef’s nightly dinners. The food was amazing, the staff worked so incredibly hard every day and night to make sure we were taken care of, and the property is even more beautiful than the pictures. I could not recommend this place more, thank you so much!

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“Beautiful property in a remote corner of Ishigaki; terrific food”

When booking Jusandi, our objective was to get away from the mainland's (Honshu) Winter weather, enjoy good food, have some peace and quiet and enjoy the two islands of Ishigaki and Iriomote. Jusandi turned out to be a terrific launchpad for everything we wanted to during our time there. It's an a… more

When booking Jusandi, our objective was to get away from the mainland's (Honshu) Winter weather, enjoy good food, have some peace and quiet and enjoy the two islands of Ishigaki and Iriomote. Jusandi turned out to be a terrific launchpad for everything we wanted to during our time there. It's an absolutely gorgeous property in a remote part of Ishigaki (the island itself is relatively sparsely populated, except for the main town and ferry terminal area.) It's about a 25 minute drive to the airport and 35 minutes from the main Port and Ferry terminal, so it's sufficiently convenient while at the same time feeling like a world away. The property beautifully blends in with the pretty natural environment. There are mountains in the backdrop, dense jungle all around, and yet the immediate property grounds are neatly manicured. The structures (both inside and out) are all white in a Mediterranean sort of way - it's somewhat reminiscent of Santorini in that regard. The main building houses the restaurant as well as a small library and lounge, while the five villas are sufficiently spread out to ensure privacy with zero noise pollution from other guests. Our Villa was called "Maani," and was a slightly underwhelming 60㎡ in size. Given that Jusandi is a relatively new property with only five Villas, and the property grounds are massive, I would've liked to have seen more generous space in each of the Villas (save for the family Villa, which is 100㎡.) We visited in December, and were there during a minor cold spell by Ishigaki standards (think mid-60s Fahrenheit, upper teens Celsius-wise), so lounging around the private outdoor pool wasn't really an option. If you restrict yourself to staying indoors like we did, the Villa does not provide an abundance of space to spread out. The bedroom and living room were in one combined open area, with the bathroom and shower/tub at the far end of the long hallway (near the front entrance of the villa.) The room was modern, stylish and elegantly simple - appropriate for a small luxury villa resort. Service is outstanding; Jusandi does not employ a large number of staff given that it only has 5 rooms - consequently, each employee is asked to wear multiple hats and operate with a jack-of-all-trades mentality. For instance, we noticed that the person who checked us in was also later seen delivering breakfast to the Villas (only dinner is served in the main restaurant), while he later was cleaning the pool and mowing the lawn. Everyone but the chef seemed to deal with all aspects of the hotel operation, which I later learned as a blessing for the employees - it helped break up whatever monotony that such a job otherwise would entail. In any case, everyone seemed to be treated very well, and appeared to be happy working there. They were professional, courteous and eager to please. Whenever we asked for something (such as the request to have a humidifier delivered to our room), it was dealt with in record time. The real star of Jusandi, however, is the food - Chef Takumi Hirose is incredibly accomplished in Italian-Japanese fusion cuisine, and served up unique and memorable dishes. Furthermore, it's an open kitchen so we were able to enjoy his artistry with our own eyes. Some of the dishes were Italian-inspired for sure, but most of the recipes as well as the execution of each dish were uniquely Chef Hirose's. For instance, the baked Ise Lobster's Oyster Sauce was more reminiscent of Chinese-style flavoring. Also, a great number of the various sauces were based on Dashi, which Chef Hirose claimed was the key to the Umami-ness of the food. He was right. Dishes which we consider typically bland and somewhat devoid of Umami (i.e. cream sauce or tomato sauce) literally burst with flavor at Jusandi, thanks to the liberal helping of Dashi. Of particular note was a cold pasta (that's right, pasta served cold, and we're not talking pasta salad, either): Capellini with Tomato Sauce, served with Caviar on top... it was absolutely divine. It was light and healthy, but still full of rich and complex flavors. According to Chef Hirose, Dashi was the key, and we definitely concur. Breakfast was served in our Villa, and rotated between Western and Japanese offerings each day. Both were equally delicious, with particular emphasis on the fresh local vegetables that are in abundance in Ishigaki. It definitely picked us up at the start of each day. Jusandi is a special place that we will fondly remember. Only its slightly small villa size and some minor compromises in the room layout keep it from being a true world-beating small luxury resort. Still, I highly recommended it.

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“Amazing Natural Jungle Hideway”

We had the most amazing time at Jusandi! Private villa with pool, surrounded by jungle forest and a path through jungle to private terrace for viewing the ocean and sunset. Another path leads to a small beach and Blue Cave with the most incredible reef snorkeling I’ve experienced! Wonderful, frien… more

We had the most amazing time at Jusandi! Private villa with pool, surrounded by jungle forest and a path through jungle to private terrace for viewing the ocean and sunset. Another path leads to a small beach and Blue Cave with the most incredible reef snorkeling I’ve experienced! Wonderful, friendly staff and the most amazing food and wine in the intimate restaurant. Turn off the pool lights and see amazing star filled sky and moonlit clouds. Truly an unforgettable treat.

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“Returned for the first time in five years”

We visited Jusandi for the first time in five years - we would not have returned to Jusandi if not for the chance to experience Chef Hirose's cooking one last time before his departure from Jusandi (he is reaching mandatory retirement age, and will be leaving the property in March 2026.) Some memor… more

We visited Jusandi for the first time in five years - we would not have returned to Jusandi if not for the chance to experience Chef Hirose's cooking one last time before his departure from Jusandi (he is reaching mandatory retirement age, and will be leaving the property in March 2026.) Some memories are best left untouched, but after having dinner there four nights in a row on our previous stay, we were confident that the food had genuinely been exceptional and not just colored by nostalgia. Jusandi occupies a plot of land not far from the sea - only a few hundred meters from the nearest beach - but from anywhere on the property, including the villas, there is essentially no sea view. The resort is surrounded by dense, jungle-like vegetation, which has been left intact rather than cleared to open up vistas. This is probably for the best, as the property faces north, where winds can be fierce; the thick greenery likely provides a natural buffer from the elements. On our first visit, our villa had a partially obstructed ocean view, but this time there was none to speak of. That said, we enjoyed the short walk through the jungle to a small, secluded beach in a nearby cove. It is also the starting point for swims to the so-called "blue cave," where, in ideal conditions, the water glows a deep blue. We have never actually gone into the cave - time constraints, often-rough seas on the island's northern side, and the fact that we have already visited plenty of brilliant blue waters in places like Belize, the Philippines, and the cenotes of Mexico made it easy to pass this up. One of Jusandi's most appealing visual elements is its architecture. The structures are predominantly white, evoking Mediterranean villages and lending the property a soothing, minimalist feel. More wood might have added warmth, but the simple white concrete has aged gracefully, reminiscent of certain properties in Santorini or along the Amalfi Coast. Each of the five villas has a slightly different layout dictated by the land, and on our first stay we found Maani, our one-bedroom villa, narrower and more constricted than its 60m² footprint suggested. This time we stayed in the 100m² two-bedroom pool villa, Yarabu, which addressed some of those spatial issues - even if much of the additional area is devoted to the second bedroom. The squarer configuration makes the living room, which is probably not dramatically larger than those in the one-bedroom units, feel brighter and more open. It is also worth noting that Ishigaki has virtually no natural hot springs, due to geological conditions that do not favor onsen formation. In any case, Okinawa's generally warm climate means that bathing culture here leans far more toward showers than soaking tubs. Our main reason for returning, however, was the food, and on that front the experience sadly did not live up to the high standard we remembered from five years ago. The menus felt short on imagination, and both the selection and quality of certain ingredients were underwhelming. The pasta course, for example, was a simple tomato sauce with sausage and ham. This was followed by sautéed leopard grouper with bagna cauda, and then panko-crusted pork with mustard sauce. The progression was heavy and not especially creative. For the fish, something like an acqua pazza preparation would have been preferable - lighter yet still full of umami. Looking back at photos from our previous stay only highlighted the gap: fried whitebait and cabbage with karasumi (salted mullet roe), ravioli with snow crab in a delicate dashi sauce, spaghetti with oysters and rape blossoms in a minimalist but outstanding salt-and-dashi broth, and a superb cold pasta of capellini with fresh tomato sauce, spicy cod roe, and caviar. By contrast, the squid ink risotto with thin strips of squid on this visit was good but hardly original. To be fair, there were bright spots. A dish of blackspot tuskfish and potato brandade, served with tuskfish jelly, caviar from Gifu Prefecture, and scallions, all tied together with kelp stock, was a terrific way to begin dinner. A carpaccio of tuna and ruby snapper with assorted land and sea vegetables also did a fine job of whetting the appetite. Breakfast was another high point: an Okinawan spread of island fruits, cold noodles with mozuku (brown seaweed) in a vinegar dressing, Ishigaki pork with poached eggs and long onions, and a clear soup with aosa seaweed showcased local ingredients in a way that was satisfying and flavorful without being heavy. Was the detour worth the extra flight, car rental, and accommodation costs, plus the time required to fit Jusandi into our itinerary? The experience did not quite match our hopes, but it was not a major ordeal to bolt on an extra day at the end of our Okinawa trip, and we enjoyed the chance to relax at Jusandi and wander around the surrounding area. As for what comes next, both for Jusandi and for Chef Hirose, the future is uncertain. He mentioned having a son in Fukuoka and hinted that he might relocate there, perhaps to open a restaurant in the city. Jusandi, meanwhile, has yet to find his successor, and there is no clarity about what sort of cuisine will be offered going forward. That single decision will likely shape Jusandi's prospects more than any other factor.

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