Oshino Kogen Hotel

A small ryokan surrounded by the nature of Oshino-mura

Oshino Kogen Hotel is an 18-room ryokan of mainly Japanese-style tatami rooms, in Shibokusa in Oshino-mura at the foot of Mount Fuji. It is about 15 minutes by car from Mount Fuji Station, with Oshino Hakkai within walking distance and Lake Yamanaka near enough for a round trip on foot at a run, which makes it a practical base for exploring the Fuji Five Lakes. It sleeps up to 80 guests and has a large banquet hall, a dining hall, a seminar room, tennis courts and a barbecue garden, so it suits everything from family trips and solo travel to university seminar retreats and sports training camps. The homey atmosphere, with a warm and approachable okami (the ryokan's proprietress) there to greet you, comes up again and again in guest reviews on Rakuten Travel.

Communal bath, sauna and oxygen bath

There are separate communal baths for men and women, one each, along with the ryokan's signature dry sauna. The sauna is reserved in advance, you choose your private time slot, and staying guests can use it free of charge. Pair it with the cold bath, generously filled with Mount Fuji spring water that stays between 12 and 14 degrees Celsius year-round, for the full reset. The Vital Onsen oxygen bath, which appears in several reviews, is a favorite: returning guests say they love the baths and that the oxygen bath suits their body and leaves them relaxed.

Rooms and facilities

All 18 rooms are Japanese-style tatami rooms, ranging from a plan for one guest in a 4.5-tatami room up to 5 guests in one room. In-room amenities are a bath towel, hand towel, toothbrush, toothpaste, soap and yukata, and a refrigerator is provided in some rooms. Wi-Fi is available, and a microwave is available in some rooms by reservation. There is a good range of items to borrow that also suit training-camp stays, including a reading lamp, a CD player, an iron and a fax machine. Some rooms have shared toilets, so it is worth checking the facilities listed for your plan when you book. Reviews also mention that guests lay out their own futons, and that while the facilities are old, the ryokan feels clean.

Meals in the banquet hall or the dining room

Breakfast and dinner are served in the banquet hall or in the dining room Irori-tei. Irori-tei is a calm, purely Japanese-style space with a sunken hearth at its center, designed so you can take in the sweeping natural scenery. The dishes use seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. From October through March you can also choose a hot-pot plan, with options such as sukiyaki, seafood hot pot, yosenabe and venison hot pot, arranged by discussing it in advance. Meals accommodating allergies can also be prepared.

Multipurpose facilities and activities

There are plenty of on-site facilities to enjoy in the rain or during a training camp: tennis courts (2 courts, with up to 10 available to arrange for training-camp use, for a fee), a barbecue garden (for a fee), table tennis, rental bicycles, a mahjong room (sets available to borrow free of charge), a dance hall and a seminar room. A morning coffee service and checkout outside the usual hours are also offered, so you can shape the stay to suit you.

Access and parking

About 15 minutes by car from Mount Fuji Station. The location is handy for hiking, training camps and sightseeing from the direction of the Fujikyuko Line, with Oshino Hakkai and Lake Yamanaka both within reach. Parking is free for 30 cars and needs no reservation. Check-in is from 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. and checkout is at 10 a.m., so a late-evening arrival is no problem.