Minshuku Odake

Mount Fuji and the forest right in front of you: an 8-room guesthouse by Lake Saiko

Minshuku Odake is an 8-room guesthouse near Lake Saiko, one of the Fuji Five Lakes. The majestic Mount Fuji and the Aokigahara Jukai forest spread out right in front of the property, which the guesthouse itself describes as "an inn where Mount Fuji looms large right before your eyes." All the guest rooms are Japanese-style tatami rooms, and some look out on Mount Fuji. It is about 15 minutes by car from the Kawaguchiko Interchange, and about 40 minutes by bus from Kawaguchiko Station with roughly one bus an hour, so arriving by car is the practical option. Parking is free and needs no reservation. The guesthouse makes a good base for nature spots that children enjoy, such as the thatched-roof village Saiko Iyashi-no-Sato Nenba, the Saiko Bat Cave and Fuji Subaru Land.

Country cooking with a following, and a Rakuten Travel rating of 5.0

The meals are this guesthouse's greatest strength: country and regional cooking made with ingredients from each season, including wild mountain vegetables and mushrooms. Guests write comments such as "The meals were completely satisfying - everything was delicious, the portions were generous, and the rice was fluffy and hot" and "Above all, the food was wonderful. We ate almost every bite." Its overall Rakuten Travel rating is 5.0 out of 5 (19 reviews), a level of satisfaction that stands out within the modest guesthouse category. Meals are served in the large hall or the dining room. The plans on Rakuten Travel have children's rate categories for elementary school children, split into upper and lower grades, and for children under school age, for whom you choose whether meals and futon bedding are included, with detailed options for the meals.

Futon-style sleeping in all-tatami rooms, and a bath used as a family

Every guest room is a tatami-floored Japanese-style room, so you can lay out futons and sleep side by side as a family. Being a tatami-room guesthouse means you can also put a baby at the crawling stage down on the floor to play. The bath is a family bath, used by one family at a time, so bathing with a small child means no need to worry about other guests. Guests write that "both the room and the bath were spacious" and that "the private-hire cypress bath felt wonderful." That said, the facilities are at the level of a traditional guesthouse: only some rooms have a television, and one review notes that the room had a fan rather than air conditioning. Some guests also mention the absence of a washlet toilet seat, so this is not the place for families looking for modern facilities.

Staying here with children

Check-in is from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m., checkout is at 10 a.m., and there is an 11 p.m. curfew. Credit cards are not accepted, so bring cash. If you are going to arrive late, be sure to call ahead. The property also has a barbecue garden and a banquet hall, which suit three-generation trips and group stays. This is an unpretentious guesthouse that takes pride in its food - just right for families who feel that modest facilities are fine as long as the meals, Mount Fuji and the quiet are good.