Okinawa Hotel Brick Building

Okinawa Hotel Brick Building: Okinawa's Oldest Surviving Postwar Hotel Structure

Standing quietly within the grounds of the historic Okinawa Hotel in Naha's Daido district, the Brick Building (Renga-tō) is a remarkable survivor of postwar Okinawan architecture. Built around 1949, this two-story structure of reinforced concrete and brick is the only remaining example of its kind in Okinawa — a building constructed from locally produced bricks gathered from across the war-ravaged island. Designated as a Registered Tangible Cultural Property in March 2024, it represents the very origins of Okinawa's tourism and hospitality industry.

Historical Background

The story of the Brick Building is inseparable from the history of the Okinawa Hotel itself. Founded in 1941 by Miyazato Teizō — later known as the "Father of Okinawa Tourism" — the original Okinawa Hotel stood at Naminoue in Naha as the prefecture's first tourist accommodation. During World War II, the hotel served as quarters for Japanese military officers before being completely destroyed by American naval bombardment in May 1945.

After the war, with entertainment professionals and business travelers arriving in Okinawa but with nowhere to stay, Miyazato was urged to rebuild. He acquired a building in the Daido neighborhood and constructed the Brick Building around 1949 as a modest two-story, seven-room hotel. Materials were desperately scarce in the devastated postwar landscape, so bricks were gathered from various locations across the island. The red clay of Okinawa, one of the few abundant natural resources remaining, was used to produce the bricks that give the building its distinctive character.

The building was designed by Nakaza Hisao, a pioneering architect of postwar Okinawa who is also credited with inventing the iconic "hana block" (flower block) — the decorative perforated concrete blocks that have become a hallmark of Okinawan architecture. Nakaza went on to design all four of the Okinawa Hotel's structures that received cultural property designation. Despite its humble beginnings, the hotel quickly became a gathering place for artists, writers, and dignitaries, including the renowned painter Yamashita Kiyoshi, printmaker Munakata Shikō, and ceramicist Hamada Shōji, who stayed for half a year while teaching at the nearby Tsuboya pottery kilns.

Why It Was Designated a Cultural Property

The Brick Building was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property on March 6, 2024, under the criterion that it is a structure that would be difficult to reproduce. Several factors contributed to this evaluation.

First, the bricks used in the building's construction are unique — each one differs slightly in color and size because they were collected from multiple sources during a time of extreme material scarcity. Today, no other buildings using these same postwar bricks survive anywhere in Okinawa. Second, as an early work by architect Nakaza Hisao, it is the only known building where Nakaza employed such brick construction, making it architecturally significant in documenting the evolution of his career. Third, the building is recognized as the birthplace of Okinawa's postwar hotel industry, representing the very first steps in rebuilding the island's hospitality infrastructure after the devastation of the Battle of Okinawa.

Architectural Highlights

The Brick Building features a mixed construction method that reflects the ingenuity required in postwar Okinawa. The first floor uses a reinforced concrete frame structure with exposed decorative brickwork, while the second floor is constructed entirely of load-bearing brick walls. The roof structure employs traditional wooden trusses topped with clay tiles in a gabled (kirizuma) style. The building covers a floor area of approximately 103 square meters.

Large rectangular window openings punctuate the exterior walls, and each floor originally contained two rooms. One notable feature is the presence of fireplaces on both floors — a rare amenity in subtropical Okinawa. A chimney remains visible on the rear elevation. The varied colors and sizes of the individual bricks create a patchwork effect across the facade that tells the story of the building's resourceful construction.

Visiting the Okinawa Hotel

The Okinawa Hotel continues to operate as an active accommodation in the heart of Naha, making the Brick Building accessible to guests and visitors alike. The hotel offers a special Registered Cultural Property Tour on weekdays at 10:00 AM, lasting approximately one hour. For 500 yen per person, participants can explore all four designated cultural properties — the Brick Building, the Inn Building (Ryokan-tō), the Tile Stone Wall (Kawara-ishigaki), and the Ufudō Gate (Daido-mon) — with expert commentary on the hotel's history.

The hotel is located approximately 20 minutes by car from Naha Airport, or about a 7-minute walk from the Asato Station on the Yui Rail monorail line. It is also within a 10-minute walk of Kokusai Street and 6 minutes from the lively Sakaemachi Market, a local favorite for authentic Okinawan street food and atmosphere.

Surrounding Attractions

The Daido neighborhood offers visitors a chance to explore a less-touristed side of Naha. The Sakaemachi Market, just a short walk away, is a vibrant maze of tiny shops and eateries that comes alive in the evening hours. Nearby Tsuboya Pottery Street preserves the tradition of Okinawan ceramics, with workshops and galleries lining a charming stone-paved lane. Kokusai Street, Naha's main shopping and entertainment boulevard, is also easily accessible on foot.

For those interested in Okinawa's deeper history, Shuri Castle — the reconstructed royal palace of the Ryukyu Kingdom — is a short monorail ride away. The Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum in Omoromachi provides comprehensive context on the island's unique cultural heritage. And at Naha Airport's observation deck on the JAL side, visitors can find a bronze statue of Miyazato Teizō, the hotel's founder, watching over the gateway to the island he helped open to the world.