Rakuyu — Hotel in Fujikawaguchiko

Wow! This place is incredible! First and foremost, let me say that if you're looking for a short, exciting stay around Fuji, this hotel will certainly accommodate. It's not only comfortable, but the location is excellent as well, almost deceptively so. . . We stayed in a traditional tatami room that was clean, comfortable and had an excellent view of the lake (note, you cannot see Mt. Fuji from the hotel). They also offer a free shuttle from the bus station if you call ahead. But before delving deeper into the hotel itself, I really want to mention the convenience of this hotel's location for potential visitors, as it would have been great to know when we first arrived. . If you want to see Mt. Fuji, there are a few options: . A free, slow and scenic route. This involves exiting the hotel's main entrance and following the immediate path going left until you reach what should be a reasonably well marked trail going up. This trail should have a shrine quite close to its starting point, which also has a public restroom. You can follow this route quite a long-ways up, and you'll encounter a comfortable park area somewhere along the way (and several benches) from where you should be able to see Mt. Fuji if the weather is accommodating. If you choose to continue powering along this trail, you will eventually reach the best viewing point in the area which happens to also be the end-point of our next option. . A paid, fast option: the ropeway. This option should be visible from the hotel itself and possibly from your hotel room. However the entrance itself is at the bottom of the hotel's hill, shortly to the right. Go early as this route gets busy quickly and you may find yourself waiting for a while later in the day. You can also purchase a boat tour ticket here that leads us into our next option: . A paid, slower, option on the water: boat tour. You can buy tickets for this at the ropeway, or possibly at the dock itself. This will give you a nice little tour of the lake, along with some commentary and a view of Mt. Fuji. A very worthwhile experience as well, if you enjoy being on the water. . A bus route, optionally packaged with the last two options at the ropeway. I did not try this option, but it seemed worthwhile as well if you have time. Any or all of these options are worth doing and if the weather is kind, you will get a wonderful view of Mt. Fuji. But even if you can't see the mountain, the views of the lake and city are still exceptional. . . Now, onto the hotel itself. I'll try to keep this short and sweet. The staff is very welcoming and will try their hardest to help you out even if there is a language barrier. There is also a public and private bath, the latter of which requires reservation, as well as a fee. Both baths have a wonderful ambiance, that really give you that "relaxing in the mountains" vibe. The private bath is actually outdoors on a sort of balcony, which gives you a great view of the area but may be a bit off-putting for anyone wanting complete privacy. . Finally, breakfast/dinner. This is almost certainly cheaper to book in advance and is worth enjoying at least once. The dinner is a traditional multi-course Japanese meal (Kaiseki), which includes a range of vegetables, meats and seafood. It was very well done, but familiarize yourself with common dishes as it may not be to everyone's tastes. Breakfast was also traditional-style and enjoyable, but not quite as special as the dinner. Otherwise, there are a few restaurants in the area (be mindful of their hours) and a Lawson not far from the bottom of the hill,...

We drove to this property so the steep slope leading up to the ryokan was not a problem for us. Parking was also not a problem. The place is very clean with good service. The reception area has a wonderful view of the lake and we sat for a cup of complimentary tea to admire the view. The staff speak limited English but were always helpful. They took our very big luggages up to our room for us. Our room had excellent views of the lake and it was so gorgeous to sip tea and look out at it. We booked the private onsen for 45 mins and it had a beautiful view of the distant mountains. Definitely worth it. We also had a private bath in the room (not spring water) which we thoroughly enjoyed. It was also great that they provided Yukata and toiletries. The cable car station next to the hotel was always packed with people. We didn’t want to squeeze into one and drove around to find a good view of Mount Fuji instead. We took half board for one of the two days we stayed and food quality was good. There are also restaurants nearby. Some of the things we thought could be improved were: the 2 control panels for bath water heating and heating in the room should come with English instructions as well. We could decipher the Japanese characters but I’m sure it’s a struggle for most. The heating in the room was not very adequate with the winter weather even though we had the heating at maximum. Service during dinner seemed hurried which made eating a little stressful when the service staff are walking about checking if you have finished or not. I can see they have been given this feedback many times but there is no change which is a pity because it is one of the establishment’s biggest...

We were lucky to be given a room that gave us a fantastic view when we woke up in the morning. We could see Lake Kawaguchi and it was a lovely sight. Like what other reviewers have mentioned, there is a steep slope leading up. For tourists with elderly or young children, it would be better to inform the hotel staff earlier and arrange a pick up. There is a cable car tourist attraction just next to the hotel but it was under maintenance when we were there. The check in was quick and a staff showed us our way to the room and also the available amenities in the hotel. |The lobby was pretty and we saw many guests sitting there and looking out at the gorgeous view. There is also a complimentary coffee and tea corner for hotel guests. |Breakfast was included in the booking and the staff were very helpful to customise it to ensure there’s no meat in it as my friend does not take meat. Timing slots for breakfast were given and guests are to choose their preferred slot, one day before. |A few of their staff were not very fluent in English. We wanted to hang out in the lobby from 2.30pm till 3.30pm and have the shuttle bus to send us to the station as our bus to Tokyo was at 4.30pm. However, the staff told us that we were not allowed to, since we’ve checked out. We were advised to leave the hotel and come back at 3.30pm instead. We felt a little disappointed as we set aside time, wanting to sit at the lobby to enjoy the view. So we decided to carry our luggage and went down the slope. Apart from that,...