Teiensaryo Yamanakako

A small, traditional-style hotel with comfortable, clean rooms. The owner was friendly and helpful, driving us to a restaurant and back that evening, then to a Fuji viewpoint at dawn and finally to the bus stop when we left.

For a Mount Fuji visit, this is a great place to stay. The rooms are a little old, but the atmosphere, location, and especially the service make up for it. The guy was incredibly friendly and easygoing, the best service I've ever experienced. I felt like I could have shaken his hand for hours. Maybe that was my "Japanese culture" moment, but he was just amazing. I wholeheartedly recommend staying here.

I can back up a lot of what other reviewers have said, and the rest sounds very likely to be true. The owner was a wonderful, helpful host. We had a great stay, 10/10.

The room looked out over a Japanese garden, and the futons were incredibly soft. The owner even drove to pick us up at the bus stop, and yukatas and wool haori were provided. With just five rooms, the place felt small and personal. Both the kaiseki dinner and breakfast were delicious, with fish, meat, and plum wine served beautifully. We're picky, but couldn't find anything to fault in the meals. The only disappointment was the onsen: there are just two rooms in the basement, rather than a lovely onsen at the hotel. Nearby, Yamanaka Yamanakako Onsen Benifuji no Yu costs 900 yen and has a jacuzzi, saunas, and stone onsens overlooking Fuji. We stopped here on our way from Tokyo to Kyoto. We took a bus from Shinjuku, then the Express Mishima Kawaguchiko liner bus to Mishima, where we bought shinkansen tickets to Kyoto.