Skip to main content

Kayak under starlit skies and glowing fireflies in Okinawa’s Yambaru Park

Discover the Island's Glow

By Amanda Teague Published February 18, 2025

Halekulani Okinawa

As noctourism gains momentum (with 62% of travelers seeking dark-sky destinations in 2025) luxury hotel Halekulani Okinawa is offering an unforgettable way to experience nature after dark. Their exclusive Discover the Island’s Glow experience invites guests to explore the UNESCO-listed Yambaru National Park by kayak, guided by a local naturalist.

Drifting through the park’s serene mangroves, visitors are surrounded by fireflies and a beautiful starlit sky. With half of Japan’s 50 firefly species found in Okinawa, the spectacle is both rare and mesmerizing. This immersive nighttime adventure showcases the park’s beauty, offering a tranquil and almost otherworldly way to connect with Okinawa’s rich biodiversity.

Recommended Videos

Discover the Island’s Glow

Halekulani Okinawa

This enchanting nighttime experience begins just before sunset at Yanbaru Quasi-National Park, where guests, guided by a local naturalist, paddle through the mangroves in a kayak. To conclude the journey, the naturalist serenades guests with soothing melodies on a sanshin, a traditional Okinawan instrument similar to a banjo, adding the perfect finishing touch to this fairytale-like adventure.

The exclusive tour runs on select dates: August 17–21, August 31–September 5, and September 16–20, 2025, at a cost of JPY 48,000 per person (approximately $320 USD).

Beyond this unforgettable excursion, guests can indulge in the luxury of Halekulani Okinawa. The five-star resort features 310 standard rooms, 45 suites, and five cliffside villas, each with private heated pools and natural hot spring baths. The hotel also offers gourmet dining, a private beach, a fitness center, multiple pools, a club lounge, a boutique, and more.

Contributor

Amanda, an accomplished freelance writer from Columbus, Ohio, is a dedicated explorer of both the world and the written word…

Topics

Destinations

Travel

Savannah Beyond the Postcard

Take a look at one of the greatest southern cities from a different perspective.

Architecture, Building, Spire

Savannah is one of those cities that seems almost too easy to like. The live oaks are dramatic. The Spanish moss does exactly what it is supposed to do. The brick sidewalks buckle in all the right places. The houses look like they were designed by people who understood proportion, shade, and the value of a proper front step. Even the light seems to arrive with better manners than it does in most places.

I have a built-in advantage when it comes to Savannah. We have family there, so we have been back several times, not just once for the checklist version of the city. I have also done a photography workshop there, which is a terrific way to learn any city. You get up early, stay out late, and pay attention to alleys, doorways, ironwork, reflections, and the way a city changes when the tourists are still asleep.

Travel

I spent 72 hours in London with only a carry-on. Here’s how I did it in style

Luxury travel doesn't require a checked bag

London

Somewhere between the baggage claim carousel and the Elizabeth Line, I realized I'd already won. As passengers from my Norwegian flight to London crowded around the conveyor belt waiting for checked luggage to appear, I was already on my way into the city. Twenty minutes later, I was headed toward central London with nothing more than a carry-on suitcase and a backpack. I've become a bit of a carry-on evangelist over the past few years. Not because I'm trying to prove some minimalist point or because I enjoy seeing how few shirts I can survive with. I just genuinely think it's the better way to travel, especially for a long weekend in Europe.

My recent 72-hour trip from Copenhagen to London wasn't exactly a backpacker's itinerary. It included a stay at one of London's nicest luxury hotels, rooftop cocktails, dinners worth dressing up for, and plenty of walking through Soho, Covent Garden, and the rest of central London. Somehow, everything I needed fit inside my Travelpro Platinum Elite Slim Cabin Hardshell Spinner V2, with a backpack holding my flight essentials.

Travel

This New Montana Hotel Captures the Poetry of the Open Road

Helena's newest boutique hotel revives the spirit of the classic roadside motel.

Corner, Home Decor, Bed

In case you need another excuse for a Montana getaway this summer, a quirky new boutique hotel has opened in Helena, the Treasure State's capital. The Bell Hotel occupies the site of the former Bell Motel, a classic 1950s roadside lodge thoughtfully reimagined by CWG Architecture. Each of its 14 rooms features locally made chocolates, coffee, and artwork. While in town, ask the front desk about the Bell's Picnic in the Park package. The hotel supplies a basket of local treats and a blanket; Montana provides the sublime scenery and glorious weather. You're on your own for companionship.

Hannah honey was a peachy kind of girl /Her eyes were hazel and her nose was slightly curved /We spent a lonely night at the Memory Motel- The Rolling Stones