Art unit YouRuMaru's work "Dance with me, Water Mirror" will be exhibited at the Yambaru atrium.

The Oriental Hotel Okinawa Resort & Spa has been reborn as a space worthy of being the base for a Yambaru , and we welcome you as a comfortable hotel that offers a unique stay experience through a wide range of accommodation plans and a wide variety of activities that guests can select according to their various usage situations and needs.

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The Oriental Hotel Okinawa Resort & Spa (Nago City, Okinawa Prefecture), located at the entrance to Yambaru , a region in the northern part of Okinawa's main island that is home to lush subtropical forests and blue seas, has a concept of " Play with the island, connect with the forest." The hotel will be exhibiting "Dance with me, Water Mirror," an art piece that breathes the nature of Yambaru , Okinawa, which was exhibited by art unit YouRuMaru at the Yambaru Art Festival, in its lobby atrium from Saturday, December 14, 2024 to Monday, February 24, 2025.

This work focuses on the two elements of "light" and "water" that are found in the great outdoors of Yambaru, allowing you to appreciate the beauty and life with all five senses. In addition, in the lobby lounge, you can enjoy Okinawan cocktails with a focus on Yambaru, as well as ambient music that embodies the hotel's concept, "AMBIENTAL." You can spend a luxurious time with the art work that can only be experienced here.

The theme of the "Yambaru Art Festival 2024-2025" is "Yamahara Honnen." With art as its key content, the aim is to consistently promote the charm of Yambaru to the world. Our hotel has exhibited works from the first year of the Yambaru Art Festival to the past. With the Yambaru area attracting more and more attention due to its registration as a World Heritage Site, we will continue to partner with various art events.

• Table of Contents
• Concept of the exhibit "Dance with me - Water Mirror"
• "YouRuMaru" Profile
• Experience art in a space that makes you feel like you're standing in the Yanbaru forest at Yambaru
• Yambaru Art Festival 2024-2025 "Yamahara Honzen"
• Past exhibition works
• Collaboration between hotels and art

Concept of the exhibit "Dance with me - Water Mirror"

～What is inherited～

Yambaru, located in the northern part of Okinawa's main island, is an area of ​​untouched nature nurtured by abundant water sources and brilliant sunlight, with a colorful ecosystem that is unparalleled anywhere in the world.

Water and light are important elements of Yambaru, and although they are essential for human life, they have become commonplace over time, and as their presence fades, our spirituality is also faltering.

Okinawa has built its own unique culture by fusing a wide variety of cultures. Yambaru retains tangible and intangible primordial landscapes, where memories, history, and atmosphere of people that have been accumulated over time and space are passed down continuously in the mountains, rivers, plants, and natural scenery itself, and there is the presence of people.

I believe that this grand aesthetic sense will be needed and rediscovered on a global scale in the future.

Water acts like a mirror, absorbing and reflecting the light that reflects the world around us, allowing us to see different worlds.

"YouRuMaru" Profile

I layered images of "tangible and intangible things dancing together in this world, holding hands like a word association game," onto my work, such as the way water circulates while changing shape, the beautiful scenery of Yambaru nurtured by water and light, and the image of people being grateful for what has been passed down and passing it on again.

Art collective by Funaki Suguru and Kado Rie.

Based on the concepts of "musubi" (connection), "ryu" (flow), and "kan" (circulate), the project uses a variety of techniques to express the connection and integration of different fields.

He creates art pieces and products that act as meditation devices, evoking a sense of relaxation for the mind and body.

Creating three-dimensional works incorporating Japanese traditions and techniques

In addition to creating spatial lighting in commercial facilities, hotels, castles and other traditional buildings across the country, they also sell lighting in department stores and run origami workshops, an experiential art form that is open to everyone from children to adults.

He has also participated in overseas exhibitions in London and Paris, where his work has been well received.

Experience art in a space that makes you feel like you're standing in the Yanbaru forest at Yambaru

■ Yambaru Tea Cocktail

[Availability period] Available from Tuesday, November 5, 2024

[Location] Lobby lounge

[Offering hours] 17:00-23:00 (LO 22:30)

You can enjoy the artworks while sipping on Yambaru cocktails such as the Yanbaru Tea Tail, which is made with rich, fragrant black tea harvested in the fall, combined with fragrant honey from Okinawa's Kitabeya Gaji Island and elderflower liqueur, or the Cascara Tea Tail, which is made with cascara tea made from the skin and pulp of coffee cherries and carefully crafted with plenty of Yambaru herbs and spices.

■Original environmental music

We have produced "AMBIENTAL", an ambient piece of music that embodies the concept of our hotel, with track maker/dub engineer "Harikuyamaku", who is based in Koza Gintengai, Okinawa. The music begins with the sounds of the Yambaru forest, as the sun rises and the birds begin to sing all at once. We also sampled sounds from the natural world, such as the frogs croaking in secret in the forests of remote islands, to create an ambient piece that combines the immersive feeling of standing in the Yambaru forest with the sense of freedom of being separated from everyday life.

Yambaru Art Festival 2024-2025 "Yamahara Honzen"

On September 15, 2016, the northern region of Okinawa Prefecture (commonly known as Yambaru) was newly designated as the 33rd national park in Japan, the Yambaru National Park. In response to this, amid the growing momentum of tourism in the north, the Yambaru Art Festival, the first art event in Okinawa Prefecture to be held across multiple cities and towns, was held. The festival has been held seven times, with art exhibitions, workshops, and related events held in Ogimi Village, Nago City, Motobu Town, Kunigami Village, Higashi Village, and other areas, attracting a total of about 350,000 visitors. The visitors included not only Japanese people, but also tourists from Taiwan, China, and Korea, and through art, the charm of Yambaru was able to be conveyed to the prefecture, Asia, and the world. Then, in July 2021, the World Heritage Committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) decided to register "Amami Oshima, Tokunoshima, Northern Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island" as a World Natural Heritage Site. This year, we will hold an art event that coexists with nature and resources in this increasingly popular area. With art as the key content, we aim to spread the charm of Yambaru to the world. The Oriental Hotel Okinawa Resort & Spa will exhibit art works within the hotel facilities. As the venue at the entrance to Yambaru, we will liven up the art festival.

-Outline of "Yambaru Art Festival 2024-2025 Yamahara Honzen"-

[Event period] Saturday, January 18, 2025 to Monday, February 24, 2025 (national holiday)

*The main venue, Ogimi Village Former Shioya Elementary School, is closed every Tuesday and Wednesday.

[Location] Various venues in the northern part of Okinawa Island

Ogimi Village: Ogimi Village Former Shioya Elementary School (Ogimi Utility Center)

Ogimi Village Kijoka Nursery School Yambaru Brewery

Kunigami Village: Hedona Shopping Street Okuma Private Beach & Resort

Nago City: Oriental Hotel Okinawa Resort & Spa Kanucha Resort Agoo Statue in front of Nago City Hall, etc.

[Fee] Adults: 500 yen; Okinawa residents: 300 yen

[General Director] Nagaharu Nakahodo

[Exhibition Section Director] Takahiro Kaneshima

[Craft Section Curators] Tetsuya Mugishima and Miki Mugishima

[Organizer] Yambaru Art Festival Executive Committee

[Co-hosted by] Ogimi Village

[Sponsors] Okinawa Prefecture, Okinawa Tourism and Convention Bureau, Northern Municipalities Association, Kunigami Village, Higashi Village, Motobu Town,

Nakijin Village, Nago City, and others (planned)

[Sponsor] Agency for Cultural Affairs/Japan Arts Council

【Official website】 https://yambaru-artfes.jp/

*Please check the website for the latest information and details.

Past exhibition works

[Photo on the left: IJU CHANDELIER, exhibited at YAMBARU ART FESTIVAL 2022-2023]

This piece is based on the Okinawan endemic "iju" plant that blooms in the mountains of Yambaru. The fresh and robust vitality of the iju plant and the majestic nature of Yambaru are expressed with a 2m stainless steel sphere and dip art resin flowers.

[Photo on the right: IJU FLOWER VORTEX, exhibited at YAMBARU ART FESTIVAL 2023-2024]

The work compares the richness of Yambaru to a vortex of energy, and allows you to experience the details from inside the vortex. The world it creates reminds us of beauty beyond our imagination and various connections.

Collaboration between hotels and art

Hotel Management Japan and the hotel chain brand "Oriental Hotels & Resorts" are developing a "collaboration between hotels and art" in order for the hotels themselves to "provide a unique stay experience" and to become "unique destinations that involve the area." Through the collaboration between hotels and art, we will continue to provide unique stay experiences while discovering the charms of the local area.

・2022: YouRuMaru “IJU CHANDELIER”

・2023: YouRuMaru "IJU FLOWER VORTEX ~Juju Mujin~"

Oriental Hotel Okinawa Resort & Spa

Oriental Hotel Okinawa Resort & Spa completed a three-year comprehensive renovation in April 2024.

The hotel's pool and spa are of course attractive, but it also offers bed-sharing, a kids' space and pool, and a universal room, making it a comfortable hotel for guests of all ages. It also has good access to the theme parks in Nago City and Yambaru National Park, making it an easy base for sightseeing in Okinawa, so please use it when you are sightseeing in Okinawa.

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