Hotel Ambia Shofukaku — Hotel in Yaizu

I went here for a few days before new year and I knew the views were good from pictures I'd seen. However, I'd also read that the food wasn't great. I can only say I was very pleasantly surprised about both being much better than I expected.||From Yaizu station it's a short taxi ride costing about £7. Alternatively there is a free bus operated by the hotel that runs on the hour and half hour from outside the station. If you fancy a walk it's about 25 minutes. ||As the taxi approached the hotel you can see it perched high on the cliffs at the end of a winding road. It's actually 80 metres up on the cliffs overlooking the sea with nothing blocking your view. To the east is Izu Isand in the distance. To the North you can see Mount Fuji and to the south the view goes out to sea toward Yaizu and the bay area. Every hotel room has a good view of the sea but not all of them have a view of Mount Fuji. I was in room 623 and the view was brilliant in all directions. I got out of the taxi and walked over to the cliff and was blown away to see sea eagles diving and swooping and Mount Fuji. The doorman will happily take pictures of you with Fuji in the background. If you take the Shinkansen from Tokyo station you'll go through Mishima station which runs along the bottom of Mount Fuji where you can also get some great views.||After settling in to the hotel we went for a walk down the hill back toward Yaizu. After about ten minutes there is a sign for a local temple on the left. Walking down some residential side streets you eventually come to the temple. It's small and uneventful, but directly behind it is a beach not shown on any tourist literature. From the beach there is a long concrete jetty where people sit fishing. The view of Fuji from there is even better that from the hotel and totally unrestricted.||Other than that walk there isn't much to do in Yaizu. The cliff road was blocked off, which was a shame and there is no way you can walk up any of the numerous small hills dotted all around. ||From the hotel room the view from the window is amazing. You can literally sit and watch Fuji, the sea and the sky changing colour by the second. The well stocked mini bar helps you to relax whilst watching this. After the sun goes down the stars come out and it is the best night sky I have ever seen in Japan. I lived in Japan for about 8 years and never saw a sky like this before from anywhere else. The hotel also has an outdoor onsen (hot spring) where you can lay back in hot water and watch the stars. Many people go directly from the onsen to the restaurant for dinner dressed in their kimono. You need to book your table in advance so they can have everything ready for you and also so they can make your futons for you whilst you are eating. These are proper Japanese futons, very comfortable and warm, not like those hideous wooden based efforts you get in the west. The restaurant serves kaiseki style food. Basically that is a very traditional way to serve food in Japan in small amounts but with many courses. I think we had about eleven courses. There were all the standards like tempura, sashimi, pickles, rice etc. Yaizu is famous for it's high quality tuna and that was certainly a memorable part of the meal.Unagi (eel) is also good in this area.||The hotel was very nice. The rooms have traditional tatami (straw) mats and is very clean and roomy. The staff were friendly and very efficient given the size of the hotel and number of guests. ||I awoke about 4am and took a look out of he window only to see the lights from a fleet of small fishing boats out on the sea in the pitch black night. I sat there for the next three hours watching the sun slowly rise over Izu island in the east, directly in front of you. This was one of the nicest places I have ever visited in Japan. My wife paid for the trip, so I can't say exactly how much it cost, but she said it was...

I went here for a few days before new year and I knew the views were good from pictures I'd seen. However, I'd also read that the food wasn't great. I can only say I was very pleasantly surprised about both being much better than I expected.||From Yaizu station it's a short taxi ride costing about £7. Alternatively there is a free bus operated by the hotel that runs on the hour and half hour from outside the station. If you fancy a walk it's about 25 minutes. ||As the taxi approached the hotel you can see it perched high on the cliffs at the end of a winding road. It's actually 80 metres up on the cliffs overlooking the sea with nothing blocking your view. To the east is Izu Isand in the distance. To the North you can see Mount Fuji and to the south the view goes out to sea toward Yaizu and the bay area. Every hotel room has a good view of the sea but not all of them have a view of Mount Fuji. I was in room 623 and the view was brilliant in all directions. I got out of the taxi and walked over to the cliff and was blown away to see sea eagles diving and swooping and Mount Fuji. The doorman will happily take pictures of you with Fuji in the background. If you take the Shinkansen from Tokyo station you'll go through Mishima station which runs along the bottom of Mount Fuji where you can also get some great views.||After settling in to the hotel we went for a walk down the hill back toward Yaizu. After about ten minutes there is a sign for a local temple on the left. Walking down some residential side streets you eventually come to the temple. It's small and uneventful, but directly behind it is a beach not shown on any tourist literature. From the beach there is a long concrete jetty where people sit fishing. The view of Fuji from there is even better that from the hotel and totally unrestricted.||Other than that walk there isn't much to do in Yaizu. The cliff road was blocked off, which was a shame and there is no way you can walk up any of the numerous small hills dotted all around. ||From the hotel room the view from the window is amazing. You can literally sit and watch Fuji, the sea and the sky changing colour by the second. The well stocked mini bar helps you to relax whilst watching this. After the sun goes down the stars come out and it is the best night sky I have ever seen in Japan. I lived in Japan for about 8 years and never saw a sky like this before from anywhere else. The hotel also has an outdoor onsen (hot spring) where you can lay back in hot water and watch the stars. Many people go directly from the onsen to the restaurant for dinner dressed in their kimono. You need to book your table in advance so they can have everything ready for you and also so they can make your futons for you whilst you are eating. These are proper Japanese futons, very comfortable and warm, not like those hideous wooden based efforts you get in the west. The restaurant serves kaiseki style food. Basically that is a very traditional way to serve food in Japan in small amounts but with many courses. I think we had about eleven courses. There were all the standards like tempura, sashimi, pickles, rice etc. Yaizu is famous for it's high quality tuna and that was certainly a memorable part of the meal.Unagi (eel) is also good in this area.||The hotel was very nice. The rooms have traditional tatami (straw) mats and is very clean and roomy. The staff were friendly and very efficient given the size of the hotel and number of guests. ||I awoke about 4am and took a look out of he window only to see the lights from a fleet of small fishing boats out on the sea in the pitch black night. I sat there for the next three hours watching the sun slowly rise over Izu island in the east, directly in front of you. This was one of the nicest places I have ever visited in Japan. My wife paid for the trip, so I can't say exactly how much it cost, but she said it was...

Shofukaku is the most recommendable hotel in this area. As I have visited there more than 5 times, the hotel always satisfies me. If you come down to this area and your budget allows, you should try this.||1. Relaxing Japanese style rooms||Though the outside appearance of hotel building is not anything special, rooms are super nice. The rooms are equipped with Tatami mats and Japanese old style table. You can enjoy lying on the mats, and it may gives you relaxation so much. All rooms should be "ocean view", and you can see beautiful view of Suruga bay and Mt. Fuji.||2. Foods are awesome!||You may know what Japanese fish eating style is here. Fish provided there are fresh and cooked by skilled cooks. I'd like those who have never tried raw fish to try Sashimi here. Also buffet styled breakfast is great. You can find many kinds of local foods.||3. Hot spring||There's a large hot spring bath. I believe you may know the culture of Japanese hot spring bathing. My recommendation is to bathing soon after your arrival at the hotel once, and early morning time (5:30am or so) for the 2nd. Hot spring lovers may go there 3 times per stay.||Hot spring will bring you an excellent experience of relaxation.||4. Access||As far as I know, the hotel runs free shuttles from JR Yaizu station. You can check it out with their webpages.||5. Sightseeing||Yaizu has been famous with fishing ports. Therefore, there's a large fish market "Yaizu Sakana Center". You can enjoy Sushi with reasonable...