Yamanakako Onsen Benifuji no Yu hot spring — Local services in Yamanakako

This public hot spring near Lake Yamanaka has excellent facilities that are clean and well-maintained, with various types of baths and an on-site restaurant. However, the biggest downside is that everything costs extra money beyond the entrance fee - you have to pay for towels, pay to open lockers (though they refund the locker fee), and constantly make additional payments throughout your visit. This gets really annoying when you just want to relax.

The facilities themselves are good with diverse options, and it tends to get crowded. Parking is quite limited, making it difficult to find a spot. They sell Yuru Camp merchandise, apparently because the place was featured in the anime.

Be very careful in the outdoor baths - the floors are slippery from the mineral water, and there are protruding stones on the bottom that can painfully cut your toes if you’re not watching where you step. Despite the irritating fee structure, the hot spring quality itself makes it worthwhile if you don’t mind the...

Yamanaka Onsen Red Fuji has 3 indoor and 2 large outdoor baths in a spacious garden setting.

The indoor baths come in three different sizes and varying water temperatures, from 41.5 (largest) to 39.2 to a cool 30.4 degrees Celsius (smallest). The middle bath comes with water jets and three head-rests.. A good size  steambath alongside a sauna which is  popular with the locals. Both are located indoors.

Take a flight of steps to the rotenburo (outdoor baths). The rock-lined rotenburo has the hottest water temperature of 42 degrees Celsius, whereas the second rectangular shape wood-framed rotenburo, is a comfortable 37.7 degrees Celsius.

There are ample refundable lockers for shoes (¥100) and  baggage (¥450) at the lobby, and lockers for personal belongings (¥100) in the changing rooms. Bring along loose change to use the lockers.

Tickets to use the Onsen can be purchased from a vending machine in the lobby at ¥800 per...

Once you’ve managed to reach the facility through heavy traffic and waited for a parking space, the first thing to hit you is the noise. Of screaming kids.

After we entered the onsen and washed, we walked over to take a bath but there was basically nowhere to sit.

Finishing up, I went to dry my hair and was invited to pay ¥100 for exclusive usage of a Dyson hair dryer for a mere 5 mins (7for ladies). Since I’d run out of coins for the shoe locker and the clothing locker I passed.

Fear not, there is a note to coin changer conveniently located inside the changing rooms. Surely once you pay to enter, hair drying should be part of the service, no?

It’s a pass...