RAKUWA Bettei

The mountain view was great on a clear day. The place has a traditional Japanese feel along with great amenities. We had gotten used to stays without a dryer, so be prepared for that. Wonderful place!

The amenities were well stocked, which was a plus, but this is a renovated private house and it's quite old. There are lots of rooms with an unusual layout. The road to the parking lot is extremely narrow; a large car can't get through, and even a small one would probably struggle. We found what seemed to be a temporary parking area and parked there, but it would help if it were easier to locate.

The rooftop has a panoramic view of Mount Fuji, and I highly recommend going up to photograph it. We skipped eating up there because it was too cold. One of the four rooms had a direct view of Lake Kawaguchi, and two of the rooms had two beds each. Every room had air conditioning and a heater, but the house got quite cold at night because there was no heating. There were two bathrooms and two showers. We went in 2022 with three other couples. It was my first Airbnb, and since I didn't expect much, I found it quite pleasant. The location was very convenient, the lighting was decent, and cleanliness was acceptable. A small hallway led from the living room to an indoor garden with space for two tables. The kitchen had the cooking utensils we needed, plus an electric grill for dumplings that we used to cook meat. The narrow lanes at the entrance were a serious problem. One of our cars got scratched, and we had to pay when returning it. Cars of all sizes basically can't fit through, so I'd strongly recommend full rental car insurance. The owner should put up warning and caution signs there. The voltage in the house was low, with frequent power cuts, and that needs fixing too. One of the rooms is actually the living room, where you have to eat with your knees bent. After two days my legs were really tired. The TV screen there is large and the sound was good enough to connect a phone for playback. But if you need that room for sleeping, you have to clear and clean up after every meal and make the bed first. It was okay overall, though maybe the Lunar New Year affected the price. Otherwise, the rate for three days and two nights with earplugs would be 218,000 yen. Hopefully I can find something better.

The house is old, and getting there by car was difficult because the entrance is so narrow. The frying pans were terrible too, making it impossible to cook anything. I wouldn't recommend it.