Shuhoukaku Kogetsu — Hotel in Fujikawaguchiko

I stayed at the Kogetsu for 2 nights in May and it was an unforgettable experience. Every detail was beautiful and thoughtful. ||I booked rather late and was not able to book the same room, so the first night I stayed in a Standard Western Style twin w open-air bath; and the second night in a Standard Japanese Modern w open-air bath (Triple). Both were on the 3rd (of 5) floors and both had stunning views of Mt Fuji. Both incorporated both Japanese and Western style. The first room had wood floors throughout and half-shoji screen doors so you could separate the bedroom and dining areas. It also had a small walk-in closet. The outdoor onsen was quite large (could easily fit 4 adults) and the patio was wider than in the Triple room. I posted pics of the Standard Western Style Twin and will post the pics of the Triple separately. ||In contrast the Triple room was larger and there was a gorgeous daybed (which becomes the 3rd bed) with windows on either side overlooking Mt Fuji. The onsen was a bit smaller (could easily fit 2 adults). The bedroom was carpeted, dining area had tatami-style mats, and hallway had wood floors. There was a wardrobe rather than walk-in closet in this room. Both rooms had a wet area for washing up before the onsen, a separate powder room, and separate toilet room. Honestly, you can’t go wrong - both rooms were gorgeous. I felt lucky to be here.||One thing to note is that there is a boat launch beside the ryokan, so my open-air onsen on 3rd floor was not super private (there’s a screen to pull down if you want privacy, but it obscures the view). The 4th/5th floors would have more feeling of privacy.||The kaiseki meals were beautifully displayed and delicious. The 2 nights’ menus were different but followed a similar (but not identical) format: 1) Aperitif, 2) Seasonal appetizers, 3) Soup, 4) Sashimi, 5) Main course (hot), 6) Steamed fish, 7) Grilled fish, 8) Palette cleanser, 9) simmered dish, 10) rice dish, and 11) dessert. My nakai, Fumiko-san, was lovely - friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.||Breakfast was also included - it was half- buffet, with an elegant bento box with appetizers and tamago. It also included delicious tempura, made to order and delivered to your table. The hotel has a happy hour from 2:30-6:30 where a limited selection of tea, coffee, nonalcoholic drinks, beer and wine are free. You can enjoy them on the gorgeous terrace overlooking Mt Fuji with your feet soaking in the footpath (just not in your room).||Lastly there are shuttles every morning to Kawaguchiko Station or any of the tourist sights on the way, and the hotel will send a shuttle to pick you up when you are ready to come back. The location of this ryokan could not be better - close to some great museums and on the North shore of the lake, which has the best views (and away from the touristy...

I stayed at the Kogetsu for 2 nights in May and it was an unforgettable experience. Every detail was beautiful and thoughtful. ||I booked rather late and was not able to book the same room, so the first night I stayed in a Standard Western Style twin w open-air bath; and the second night in a Standard Japanese Modern w open-air bath (Triple). Both were on the 3rd (of 5) floors and both had stunning views of Mt Fuji. Both incorporated both Japanese and Western style. The first room had wood floors throughout and half-shoji screen doors so you could separate the bedroom and dining areas. It also had a small walk-in closet. The outdoor onsen was quite large (could easily fit 4 adults) and the patio was wider than in the Triple room. I posted pics of the Standard Western Style Twin and will post the pics of the Triple separately. ||In contrast the Triple room was larger and there was a gorgeous daybed (which becomes the 3rd bed) with windows on either side overlooking Mt Fuji. The onsen was a bit smaller (could easily fit 2 adults). The bedroom was carpeted, dining area had tatami-style mats, and hallway had wood floors. There was a wardrobe rather than walk-in closet in this room. Both rooms had a wet area for washing up before the onsen, a separate powder room, and separate toilet room. Honestly, you can’t go wrong - both rooms were gorgeous. I felt lucky to be here.||One thing to note is that there is a boat launch beside the ryokan, so my open-air onsen on 3rd floor was not super private (there’s a screen to pull down if you want privacy, but it obscures the view). The 4th/5th floors would have more feeling of privacy.||The kaiseki meals were beautifully displayed and delicious. The 2 nights’ menus were different but followed a similar (but not identical) format: 1) Aperitif, 2) Seasonal appetizers, 3) Soup, 4) Sashimi, 5) Main course (hot), 6) Steamed fish, 7) Grilled fish, 8) Palette cleanser, 9) simmered dish, 10) rice dish, and 11) dessert. My nakai, Fumiko-san, was lovely - friendly, helpful and knowledgeable.||Breakfast was also included - it was half- buffet, with an elegant bento box with appetizers and tamago. It also included delicious tempura, made to order and delivered to your table. The hotel has a happy hour from 2:30-6:30 where a limited selection of tea, coffee, nonalcoholic drinks, beer and wine are free. You can enjoy them on the gorgeous terrace overlooking Mt Fuji with your feet soaking in the footpath (just not in your room).||Lastly there are shuttles every morning to Kawaguchiko Station or any of the tourist sights on the way, and the hotel will send a shuttle to pick you up when you are ready to come back. The location of this ryokan could not be better - close to some great museums and on the North shore of the lake, which has the best views (and away from the touristy...

This place is okay. Similar to what others have said, the place is pretty and views are great. However if I am being honest, the staff training needs significant improvement. It was a definite miss for a more luxury ryokan like this. If you have experienced other nice ryokans in Japan similar to this one, I would recommend booking a stay elsewhere.

It was clear that the in room assistant (nakaisan) was not well trained. It was a lot of little things that added up to a clear miss. Things like she was not able to answer simple questions about the kaiseki dinner, she didn’t introduce herself to us, the scheduled kaiseki dinner was late and required a call to the front desk, and forgetting to give us our room key so we had to return to the front desk to retrieve it. Also typically, a professional nakaisan will be able to preempt every request you have. It felt like we had to call the front desk or ask her for requests (such as to lay down the futon which is a usual request, everyone has to sleep).

Here are my thoughts on the food. The kaiseki dinner was nothing special. Very standard (and perhaps even on the underwhelming side) for a nice ryokan like this. The breakfast however, was good. It was a combination of set food plus “Viking style” (Japanese way of saying buffet) which is typical for an inclusive place like this. However, the breakfast staff were also not able to answer questions about what some of the set food was, indicating again that the staff was undertrained.

I gave this place three stars instead of two because they wrote me a nice short checkin letter which I appreciated, and of course the place and view was great. However, for any places with views of Mount Fuji this is to be expected, and I would say that this place is merely average. I really hope that this place spends more time training their staff, it has the potential to be somewhere great. Perhaps it once was and it’s all due to Covid I don’t know, but this place current does not meet standards a Japanese...