Instead of bringing in a fresh face to reinterpret the resort, NOT A HOTEL AOSHIMA made a more direct call this time around: rehire Shin Ohori, the same architect who designed it in the first place, and let him upgrade his own years-old blueprint. Set on the seaside stretch of Aoshima in Miyazaki Prefecture, the two new villas go by CHILL 2.0 and COAST — names that already hint at the relationship. One is an evolved version of an existing room type, the other a remix that pulls the best elements from two previous layouts.
Shin Ohori of GENERAL DESIGN was part of the original team behind the resort's architecture and spatial planning, so there's no stylistic gap between old and new structures here. The lush, humid subtropical greenery of Aoshima itself becomes the connective backdrop running through the whole property. The resort has also expanded its communal areas, adding a skate park and several green spaces so guests aren't just confined to ocean views from their rooms.
CHILL 2.0: Stretching the Signature Pool Even Further
CHILL 2.0 is an extended take on the resort's signature villa, "house of the horizon," built on the third floor and sleeping up to six. Two ocean-facing bedrooms open directly onto a shared terrace, letting sea breeze in without passing through a hallway. The real highlight is outdoors: a 21-meter infinity pool, stretched even longer than the original CHILL layout, with water that appears to merge straight into the horizon. Beside the pool sits a floating lounge area with a sunken sofa and fireplace, connecting further inward to a bath, sauna, and cold plunge — three spaces linked in one continuous flow, so you can move through a full spa circuit without switching locations.
COAST: The Best of SURF and GARDEN, Combined
COAST is a duplex house spanning the first and second floors, accommodating up to four guests, positioned right on the oceanfront. The logic here is to take the best of the resort's previous "SURF" and "GARDEN" room types — a private pool paired with a secluded private garden — and combine them into one. Among the four COAST units, one allows dogs, making it a rare pet-friendly option within the resort. The interior living room features 3.2-meter ceilings, giving it a noticeably deeper sense of space than a typical resort villa, one that matches the tropical scenery just outside.
Alongside the two new villas, the resort has also renovated its ocean-facing LDK restaurant during this same period, redesigned by Ryu Kosaka of A.N.D. Together, the three additions push this Aoshima beach community further toward becoming a place worth staying longer. Specific pricing and booking dates were not included in this announcement — check NOT A HOTEL AOSHIMA's official site for the latest updates.
