Dots by Dot Glamping Suite 001

The food was delicious, and the sauna was spotless. I loved relaxing there while looking at the starry sky. It was a wonderful stay with nature, comfort, and good food, and the air conditioning and insect prevention had clearly been improved since the reviews I'd read. I was comfortable overall. A couple of things bothered me: the hair dryer had weak airflow and heat, so drying my hair took twice as long as usual. In the morning, I found that a small animal had gotten into the kitchen overnight and knocked over the trash can. That made me uneasy. I think a solid screen door for the kitchen would be safer than the simple partition.

This is a relatively new place, so there weren't many reviews when I visited. I'll go into some detail. The private setting made it easy to relax without worrying about other guests. The stylish dome tents and skeleton living area felt different from ordinary camping or a hotel, and our one night went by quickly. With clear weather, Mt. Fuji is right in front of you. At night the domes and grounds look beautiful and photogenic, but the lights obscure the stars. I hope they make it possible to turn them off. There are four buildings: the sleeping dome, a skeleton living dome, the dining kitchen, and a toilet, shower, and sauna room. Outside are an open-air bath, cold bath, an unusual seated bath theater, and a tatami area. The tatami is a no-shoes space meant for lying down to stargaze or reclining while looking at Mount Fuji. Without someone explaining it, I wouldn't have understood what it was for. There's a wireless speaker in the tent for playing music at meals or in the bath, and a wireless projector for showing images from your phone. Keep the volume down so you don't bother neighboring campsites. Bonfires and fireworks aren't allowed because the area is apparently a nature reserve; instead there are cards and board games in the dome. Large windows in the sleeping dome look out at Mount Fuji, and the interior has stylish wooden pillars and flooring. It has air conditioning, a small fridge, bedside charging outlets, high-speed Wi-Fi, and plenty of hotel-like amenities. Everything is self-service, including unmanned check-in and check-out, cooking, filling the bath, and heating the sauna, so you don't encounter staff. We chose the two-meal plan, so the ingredients and dishes were ready in the kitchen's commercial refrigerator, separated for dinner and breakfast. Soft drinks and local beer in the fridge were all-you-can-drink, and there was also a water dispenser and ice in the freezer. The BBQ meat was tender, juicy, and delicious. Breakfast was good too: I liked the coffee, which you grind yourself, and the hot sandwiches with corned beef instead of ham. But the salad dressing and yakiniku sauce seemed mass-produced and weren't very good. They could use local seasonings and ingredients from roadside stations instead. The stick salad was wilted, and the cut fruit was dry and not fresh. I understand the breakfast is prepared the day before, but that was still disappointing. The main letdown was the Fujiyoshida udon. The booking page promised handmade Fujiyoshida udon, but it was cheap frozen supermarket udon, and the sweet, commercial broth was nothing like authentic Fujiyoshida udon broth. I was so dissatisfied that after checkout I stopped for authentic Fujiyoshida udon on the way back to Tokyo (lol). Given the high room price, I expected better quality food and ingredients. You can see Mt. Fuji from the sauna. The bath is heated, and bath salts like "Bub" are provided, but seeing "Bub" at a luxury inn felt disappointing. Local Yamanashi hot spring salts, such as "Yunohana," would make it feel special compared with a bath at home. The website says to bring a swimsuit, but in this completely private space, you don't need one if you're with someone you know well. There aren't any convenience stores nearby. Narusawa roadside station is about a 10-minute drive away and has plenty of drinks, vegetables, meat, sausages, venison, and wild boar, so it's a useful place to stock up. The price is on the high side, and better quality food and supplies would improve satisfaction. Maybe because it's still new, some things need work. Still, the quiet, slightly luxurious camping in a completely private setting is a unique experience and should make good memories.

We went on a cold day in mid-November, but the sleeping tent was heated, and the other tent had a kotatsu and a Dyson heater, so it was comfortable inside. The kitchen only has a simple partition, so cold wind gets in, though turning on the BBQ grill helps. The only loungewear provided is a bathrobe, so for cold months from December onward, it's probably best to bring a sweatshirt or something. The fridge had four bottles of beer, two cans of Pocari Sweat, two cans of Oronamin C, juice, and other alcoholic drinks. They also provide snacks like cheese and crackers, but I'd still bring your own food and alcohol. There aren't any shops within walking distance. They provide amenities like lotion and Type-C phone chargers. Everything, including the facilities, amenities, and cleanliness, was high standard, and I was very satisfied. I'd definitely like to visit again. As others have said, turning off the lights would make it easier to see the stars. Outside the facility, I closed the door and looked up at a beautiful starry sky, so I really hope they make the stars visible from inside too. Make your own coffee in the morning and enjoy it!

The private space was roomy and very relaxing, and overall I had a great experience. I wasn't sure which building we'd get, A or B, since it wasn't stated beforehand. It seemed to be first come, first served, which was confusing. It would be better to choose when booking. Check-in at 4pm meant that in winter it got dark and cold quickly. Since there's a sauna and other facilities, an earlier time like 2pm would be better. The sauna takes an hour to heat, so by the time I waited, it was already 5pm. There also weren't any daytime hours, which was a bit disappointing. The exterior corridor lights were so bright that you couldn't see the stars, as other reviews have mentioned. I hope they can dim them. With those changes, this would be an even nicer place. The guest room was newly built and very clean, with four single beds that could be pushed together. They were light and kept moving, which was a hassle. There was a desk, lamps, projector, Jenga, playing cards, and UNO. It would've been nice to have board games too. The room had air conditioning and stayed warm even in winter, but stink bugs kept getting inside. I think they may have come through the air conditioner above. I saw more than five in the room, so I wish they'd install a net or take other steps to keep them out. There was a second dome for living space, but we never used it. It had no air conditioning, so I doubt it would be useful in summer or winter. The kitchen was clean, easy to use, and very nice. The gas grill meant we could start BBQ right away without charcoal. But there weren't enough dishes, and the kitchen felt a bit small. There was one pot and no frying pan, which was inconvenient. They should provide at least a frying pan. You can't borrow condiments when staying overnight, so bring your own. The water dispenser and provided ice were very helpful. The sauna and bath were great, and the bath was clean and ready to use. Start heating the sauna an hour ahead. The sitting bath was so dirty I couldn't tell whether it had been cleaned, so I didn't use it. There was a screen, but using it would've meant bringing the projector over from the room, which was too much hassle. I also couldn't tell how clean the tatami mats were, so I didn't lie down on them. The chairs were great.