Koyodai Observatory — Attraction in Narusawa

Visited early November 2024 on a weekday. Very few people here. 300 yen per person to go to the rooftop, the views were great. The building itself was quite shabby, furniture was very old and you can't access the downstairs balcony (not that it mattered). Staff were friendly, the was an English sheet for foreigners too.

Other reviewers are correct in saying the drive up is a bit treacherous, we had a 2WD Kei car with 4 adults and it managed okay but the path wasn't wet or muddy. There are many spots you may have to reverse if traffic comes the other way. If you're fit you can probably just hike it instead, but it's not a short journey by any means. However, anywhere you go for views like this will require some degree of vertical climbing so comments about it are kind...

We arrived this Observatory at dawn. We didn't know cars can drive to the top, so we walked about 30 minutes. The ower there greeted us warmly. By the time we finished touring, it was completely dark. When we came back to the small cafe downstairs and worried about how to get back, the owner asked us if we need help to get down the hill. That's really heart warming!!! While He was driving us down, we met two other tourists walking down in dark. He said he would pick them up after driving us. The view there is super beautiful without any doubt, at super good location, with momiji view with My.Fuji. But the most beautiful thing is definitely the owner's kind...

Totally not worth it. There are other spots which give a better view of Mount Fuji and it’s free.

The drive up there was stressful, the dirt road was narrow and it’s not easy to maneuver. It’s single lane with some parts wider to accommodate 2 cars.

And after the stressful drive, the view wasn’t magnificent at all. We were then asked to pay 300 Yen each to go up one floor to the observatory deck. We didn’t, the group that hike up didn’t pay too. We both reckoned we won’t see much.

So it’s totally not worth to drive up that stressful road...