Hotel Spatio Kobuchisawa

The staff were so, so kind, and the public bath is huge, with a cold bath too. I love this hotel. You should go!

After a great sauna at Enmei-no-Yu, I was worn out and went to the Chinese restaurant on the 5th floor. It was nearly last orders, but they were still welcoming plenty of customers, and the food came out really fast. A great place.

Spatio Kobuchizawa is a complex built around food and health, with accommodation, a day spa, a restaurant, hands-on workshops and other facilities. The hot spring, called Enmei no Yu, is said to be a natural mineral spring from 1,500 meters underground. The address is 2968-1 Kobuchizawa-cho, Hokuto City, Yamanashi Prefecture. The spring is a sodium chloride, bicarbonate and sulfate type, described as hypotonic, weakly alkaline and high temperature. The baths include an open-air bath, a rock bath and a sauna. Day-use hours are 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM, with last admission at 9:30 PM. For non-resident adults, entry is 830 yen, elementary school students pay 420 yen, and infants are free. Residents receive a discount. The facility is generally closed on the second Tuesday of the month, though hours may vary. Getting there is easy: it’s about 3 minutes by car from Kobuchizawa IC on the Chuo Expressway, or around 5 minutes by taxi from Kobuchizawa Station on the JR Chuo Main Line. There’s free parking for 100-220 regular vehicles. In winter, studless tires or chains are recommended because of snow and ice. There are 23 rooms, including Japanese-style, Japanese-Western and twin rooms. All are non-smoking and have free Wi-Fi. Check-in is at 3:00 PM and check-out at 10:00 AM. The on-site workshop offers activities such as soba and bread making, flower arranging, and natural stone jewelry making. Some activities need to be booked in advance. Kobuchisawa Roadside Station is next door, with a farm produce sales area and a bread and jam workshop. It’s a handy spot for a hot spring day trip or overnight stay, and for families looking for activities. It’s also easy to reach from the Kanto region for a casual highland resort visit.

I picked a Japanese-style room, which seemed well suited to a family. It wasn’t fancy or new, but it was very clean and the amenities were in good shape. I was there for two nights on a business trip and ended up very satisfied, even though the place isn’t perfect. The hotel is attached to a roadside station and linked to a hot spring. Guests can use the spacious, comfortable on-site baths until 10 PM. After that, the hotel’s own indoor bath stays open until midnight, and in the morning it’s the only option, from 6 AM. The indoor bath looked a bit worn with age. The roadside station has souvenirs but not the food and everyday supplies you’d get at a convenience store. You can buy drinks and snacks in the front desk shop, and there’s a convenience store about a five-minute walk away, so it was manageable. I had dinner at the hotel. There are Japanese and Chinese restaurants, and the Chinese food was tasty and reasonably priced. If the weather cooperates, you can probably see the Yatsugatake Mountains and Mt. Fuji from here. I’d like to come back if I get the chance.