As the golden hues of summer fade, longings for palm trees and deserted beaches start to bite. St Barths? Fiji? Turks and Caicos? If you’re looking for an island escape, you’re unlikely to spin the globe and point to Japan. Yet the Okinawa Islands have long been the best-kept secret of the Land of the Rising Sun. Scattered across the Pacific from Kyushu to Taiwan, they tick the box of every desirable tropical island cliché – long white-sand beaches, coral-fringed bays, azure skies and water the shade of every blue-hued precious stone you can think of – but with a unique culture worth the long-haul flight.

Skip the main island, which has been teeming with US marines since the end of WWII, and fly directly to the Yaeyama Islands, a small cluster of green dots closer to Taiwan than mainland Japan. Laid-back, friendly and a little dishevelled, these islands are a welcome contrast to the rigidity and polish of the rest of the country, which is unsurprising considering their history. For centuries the Ryukyu Islands were an independent kingdom that adopted Buddhism from China, established trade routes from Siberia to Siam, and banned all weapons (which led to the development of karate). But in 1609, Japan’s Satsuma clan invaded, and in 1879 the mainland officially annexed the islands, renaming them Okinawa Prefecture.

The tiny island of Taketomi is centred around a hushed settlement that is one of Okinawa’s few preserved Ryukyu villages. Nearly all 350 residents live in a maze of red-tiled one-storey houses surrounded by hand-built stone walls and white coral lanes. Ferocious lion-dogs, or shisa, snarl above each building, protecting the village from evil spirits.

The shisa, along with the admirably stubborn villagers, have also been protecting the island from development, only allowing one discreet luxury resort to build on the proviso that it adhere to traditional Ryukyuan architecture. Taking inspiration from the village houses, each pavilion at Hoshinoya Taketomi – the only place to stay on the island apart from a few local guesthouses – is constructed using cedar (but no nails) and features tatami floors, shoji screens, a hinpun gateway and gukku stone walls. Crushed-coral paths wind their way around the resort (because evil spirits can only move in straight lines), leading to deserted beaches, lookout points and a vast elliptical pool ­– the banyan trees and gently sloping gardens hiding it from view and creating the perfect conditions for stargazing.

If lazing by the pool at Hoshinoya seems too languorous, hop on one of the hotel’s bicycles and cycle around the village, catching glimpses of a culture stuck in time. Or for a more unusual mode of transport, wake up early and take a tour of the island on a water buffalo-drawn carriage, serenaded by the sounds of a sanshin (a traditional Okinawan stringed instrument). Hoshinoya offers a tasting menu that fuses French techniques with local ingredients such as Japanese tiger prawns (brought to you raw and cooked tableside with a cloche of steam), local beef with the finest marbling of flavoursome fat, and herbs picked from the garden. If Okinawan nouvelle cuisine feels a little flamboyant for every evening, take a quick shuttle ride to the village for hearty bowls of soba topped with pork ribs and seasoned with local pepper and chill-infused vinegar.

A trip to Taketomi is all about returning to a simpler way of life and relaxing into a daily routine of bike rides, swimming off Kondoi beach and snorkelling in the emerald waters. To add a little culture into the mix, visit the folk art museum and try your hand at traditional Minsah weaving, using hand-dyed threads from native plants. Or for a taste of adventure, take a boat to nearby Iriomote and trek through the jungle to spectacular waterfalls. But if all you manage each day is a leisurely breakfast, reading a good book and snacking in the Hoshinoya lounge – purple sweet potato crisps, teas made with local herbs, sake, honey scones, and peanut tofu with ice cream and nut brittle – then it’ll be time well spent. After all, the Okinawa Islands have the highest percentage of centenarians in the world. They must be doing something right.