A wave of bittersweet sadness took over as I landed in Tokyo last year during cherry blossom — for Japan was still “closed” to foreign visitors
I was merely a transit passenger catching a glimpse of Mt. Fuji from the airplane window. The country filled with blooming sakura trees. Man it was the biggest tease ever…
Fast forward to today, we’re finally back. This time, we decided to go all out and journey into the famous countryside of Fujikawaguchiko to experience the mystical nature of Mt. Fuji with cherry blossoms firsthand. To state the obvious, Japan is one of our favorite destinations in the world.
Booking
Kozantei Ubuya is an upscale luxury onsen that overlooks Lake Kawaguchi in Fujikawaguchiko. Like most ryokans, the hotel rates is based on occupancy, so with 2 adults and 1 child, our rate for April is around 90,000 yen per night, which includes breakfast and dinner.
Since it’s prepaid, we timed our booking back in Oct. 2022 when the USD / YEN was at a near all-time high at 1 USD to 150 YEN. Thus, the rate we paid after conversion translated to ~$650 USD per night, which felt like a fantastic value for this all inclusive luxury stay especially during peak cherry blossom season.
Getting there
The most straightforward way to get there through public transportation is to go from Shinjuku and take a bus directly to Kawaguchi train station. The journey is around 1 hour and 45 minutes. At the train station, there’s a hotel shuttle that conveniently takes you in front of the hotel.
Experience
For traditional Japanese ryokans, the room feels huge. The highlight of the room is a conservatory living room area that overlooks the lake. Just above the hotel’s own private hot spring.
We got extremely lucky with the weather and woke up to stunning sunrise views of Mt. Fuji.
The matcha magically tastes even better with this epic view.
Not to mention… the A5 Wagyu Hot pot dinner
Orrrrrr the glorious breakfast the next morning
Skipping rocks with Chloe at the lake
Cherry Blossoms along the walking trail
Mt. Fuji as the backdrop
The stay feels like living in a cinematic K-drama movie
Overall, this is a breathtaking ryokan stay. With the ever-changing weather at Fuji mountain, we highly recommend at least a 2-night stay in this town. Luck in weather is definitely a factor when it comes to your stay experience at this onsen.
It’s such a privilege to finally visit Japan again. What a glorious stay that we’ll remember for many years to come…
Chai Bear World 