Kofu-no-yado Asafuji

A small lakeside onsen ryokan: all 13 rooms overlook Mount Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi

Kofu-no-yado Asafuji is a 13-room onsen ryokan on the south shore of Lake Kawaguchi, in the Asakawa hot spring district. It's in a great lakeside location - about a 3-minute walk to Lake Kawaguchi and about a 15-minute walk to the Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway. Every room is a Japanese-style tatami room with views of Mount Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi: the 2nd and 3rd floors have 10-tatami-mat rooms (capacity 4, with 4 sets of futon), and the top 4th floor has an 8-tatami-mat room with a private bathroom (capacity 3). Since the whole family sleeps together on futons laid out on the tatami floor, there's no need to worry about a child falling out of bed - a welcome point for families with small children. Every room has its own toilet and shower room, an air purifier, and free Wi-Fi, and rooms come with welcome sweets and tea.

Bathing in the onsen with a view of Mount Fuji

The communal bath's large windows offer sweeping views of Mount Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi, which change with the seasons and the time of day. The water is a natural onsen with a calcium-sodium sulfate spring quality. Hours are 3 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. and 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. the next morning. On the top floor there is also a view bath where Lake Kawaguchi appears to merge seamlessly with the bathtub in front of you. There is no sauna and no day-use bathing. If you're hesitant about the communal bath during certain times, choosing a room with a shower room or the private-bathroom room (4th floor) lets you bathe in your own room instead.

Japanese cuisine featuring seasonal Yamanashi ingredients at the dining room

Dinner and breakfast are served in the first-floor dining room, featuring Japanese cuisine made with plenty of seasonal ingredients from local Yamanashi. Sukiyaki headlines a colorful lineup of seasonal dishes, and plans with a boat-shaped sashimi platter are popular. Dinner can be scheduled starting at 6 p.m., 6:30 p.m., or 7 p.m., and breakfast starting at 7:30 a.m., 8 a.m., or 8:30 a.m. Outside food and drink may not be brought into the dining room, but you're free to bring it to your own room, so kids' snacks and drinks are fine there. Dinner cannot be prepared for arrivals after 7 p.m., so plan your check-in time with some margin.

Staying with kids

When booking, you can choose a category for children under school age from 'meals and futon included,' 'meals only,' 'futon only,' or 'no meals/no futon needed' - a setup that makes it easy to stay even with a baby. Children's-size samue loungewear is available for wear around the ryokan. A free shuttle (boarding point 10) runs from Kawaguchiko Station with advance reservation, so it's reassuring even if you're traveling by train or bus. There are 13 free parking spaces, and humidifiers are available to borrow. Fuji-Q Highland is about 20 minutes away by bus, making this a convenient base for family-friendly spots such as Oishi Park and the Kawaguchiko Music Forest Museum. With a Rakuten Travel rating of 4.67 out of 5 (448 reviews), this ryokan has long been valued for its warm, homely hospitality.