ROUTE INN Hotels in Fujikawaguchiko

Only managed to book 1 out of 2 nights of our stay in the Superior Room and had to book the 2nd night via Japanican (standard room). Both rooms were amazing in terms of size. Superior room’s amenities and furnishings, bathtub etc are more luxurious in comparison but Standard Room is really good enough when you enter to a full view of Mt Fuji at the windows. My view fm the Standard Room was much better compared to the Superior though. Only con at the Standard Room is probably the inability to go out to a balcony to take photos and had to deal with reflections. Hospitality at the front desk was largely good, except a harsh-sounding man whom attended to our bus pickup call request and another night-duty man who can’t speak English and only repeatedly uttered “sorry” and “nonono” when I called to ask for a pillow they missed out. Special mention and thanks to 2 ladies whom attended to us: 1. “AHN” or “ANH” who helped us with check-in to the room, and continued to serve us with helpful suggestions and the sincerest greetings whenever we bump into her in the ryokan. 2. We didn’t get her name. The lady who served us for dinners (16 & 17 Dec) and breakfast (17 Dec) at Room 桃の二. Really patient and tried her best to communicate with us in English for all our requests and questions about the food. For non-adventurous-foodies like us, the provided breakfasts and dinners are a great experience and an eye-opener, but also wasteful on the other hand as we ended up with much things we don’t eat (even after I’ve put in a string of dietary requests prior to check-in). Perhaps having a room-only option for booking would be good.

This lovely hotel (its a bit dated, but everything is clean and very nice) is right on the lake, and very quiet. Its 10 minutes driving distance from the Kawaguchi-Ko bus stand/train station and there is a free hotel shuttle every hour. I would definitely go for rooms with a view - either of the lake, or of Fujisan. We went for rooms with lake view, and very much enjoyed it. The rooms are big and very comfortable, with a desk, an armchair and a sofa. There is also a small balcony, with amazing views of the lake. Its so peaceful, especially in the early morning or during sunset. The hotel is located in a large garden. There is an indoor and lovely outdoor onsen, where you can bath in the warm water whilst seeing bamboo and hearing birds. Breakfast is a good buffet. The restaurant for dinner is rather expensive, so i would recommend eating in one of the few restaurants in the small town.

Fabulous “destination” hotel…. The food was incredible (either French or Japanese degustation style menu). You could not get a better viewpoint for Mt Fuji. Advice: traditional public onsen so no tattoos but they have private baths too so happy days; a car would be helpful as the taxi service is fairly sp****; if you don’t have a car then book Taka from Native Fuji Tours (he was 10/10)… and pay the extra for a higher floor… we had one with a bath on the balcony… stunning!

Stayed for two nights and finally I got a much better sleep for the first time on my 2 week trip! Breakfast was ok, not fantastic-the place seems very deserted with many shops shuttered quite early on and streets dark. The bath was decent but nothing to shout about. Overall a value for money place just don’t expect too much

Service is Impeccable, excellent. Really appreciated the hospitality of offer a dessert and beautiful wordings for celebrating me & my wife’s 14th Wedding Anniversary. Unforgettable Dining experience. Our room is facing FUJI mountain and we are so lucky that we can see it in the cloudy day. All facilities are good, we will definitely stay this hotel again and we will highly recomend to our friends & family to stay if they go to FUJI. To all staffs, you all doing an excellent job and keep going. We will see you soon in the future.

We are staying in F cabin cos there are 3 of us. Staff and service are great. Best glamping experience (we had Dutch oven dinner). I am lucky to see a glimpse of mt. Fuji from our room. Overall experience is lovely but not for the price I paid. Breakfast box is a must have.

For more general details about Fufu Kawaguchiko, please read my review from October 2020... We decided at the last minute to pay a visit to the Fuji Five Lakes area because the weather forecast called for a clear day (and hopefully a clear view of Mt. Fuji.) Thankfully, one room was available, and it was the exact same room as the one we stayed at the first time (Fufu Luxury Premium Suite, Room #408.) It's a top-floor corner suite with a separate bedroom/living room along with an expansive balcony and a free-flowing, open-air Onsen (natural hot springs) bath. As rooms go, it's pure bliss. Modern, tastefully furnished and decorated, bright and airy, and has all of the amenities and features one would expect when staying at a relatively new high-end property. We still feel that Fufu doesn't make the best use of its space - it's a bit busy, and consequently seems a bit less spacious than its specifications suggest (it's officially 136 square meters, although someone we can't help but feel that they're counting the balcony space as part of the overall room size.) It's really less of a ryokan and more of a hotel with ryokan-style elements. Shoes don't need to come off (although you're advised to do so in the guest rooms), they provide ”Samue” (sort of spa pajama/style) outfits rather than the traditional (and albeit more pretty but less comfortable) Yukatas, but still retain some of the common ryokan charms (and a few drawbacks.) The staff are relatively young, hip and ”pretty”, and more casually friendly than the typical traditional ryokan, which is good or bad, depending on your perspective. We enjoyed the high-energy vibe of the place, although we also do enjoy the finesse and quaintness that top traditional ryokans exhibit as well (Asaba is a perfect example of this.) The clientele are also more youthful than most other properties that we've stayed at - this is where the young, wealthy and beautiful go to see and be seen, that's for sure. Again, not necessarily a bad thing, but just a FYI. Not much has changed from our last stay, although I will say that we enjoyed the food offering a bit more this time. We learned that they brought in a new head chef, and while it's not a night-and-day difference, we did notice a quality and creative improvement from last time. A few specialty dishes were once again served, including a unique cheese gratin with Natto (fermented soybeans that is slimy and has a pungent odor) for breakfast - we enjoyed the dish, but not sure how many Westerners can handle Natto, which is a very acquired taste. While we wish there was an option to have meals served in one's own room, we do think that Fufu needs to have more ”ko****su” private dining rooms in the restaurant. They only have a handful of them, and priority goes to large groups or families with small children. When we go to a high-end ryokan, we prefer not to dine in an open, restaurant-style environment. We requested a Ko****su in advance, and were only told we wo

This is our 2nd stay at this Hotel and it was better than the first. The Hotel may be ”old”, but it is very clean and comfortable. The breakfasts are Wonderful each morning, they should not be missed.!!!! The Staff are all very kind and friendly. It has so much charm and is Great for people that enjoy art, architecture and nature. The onsen has a Wonderful view of Mt. Fuji if the weather cooperates. This is a peaceful place to relax and get out to walk in Nature away from the crowds.

Really clean room, as with all hotels in Japan, and the room was so white, aesthetically pleasing. Dedicated room for washing with detergents provided, vending machines and even bikes here for you to rent and use during your stay here. Beautiful view of Mt Fuji once you get up on a clear day, what’s not to love it here?