At Lake Kawaguchi, Mt Fuji stands on the other side of the water, and several ryokans sell exactly that view. According to the inns, you can see it from every room at Shuhokaku Kogetsu and Kozantei Ubuya. At other inns only some rooms have the view, and you need to book it as a separate room type.
Where the view comes from
Mt Fuji lies south of Lake Kawaguchi. From the north shore, where Kozantei Ubuya and Konanso stand, you look across the water at the mountain. The inns in Funatsu on the south-east shore, near Kawaguchiko station, see it more from the side or over the rooftops, as Kasuitei Ooya describes it. Hakkai Konohanakan is in Oshino, not on the lake, and has some rooms with a Fuji view.
Booking the right room type
- Every room has the view: Shuhokaku Kogetsu, Kozantei Ubuya. Any room will do.
- Separate room type: Konanso sells “Mt. Fuji Side”, which is 10 of its 50 rooms. Oike Hotel has a Fuji-view room type, and in the suite and deluxe rooms you also see it from the room bath.
- Individual rooms: Hakkai Konohanakan (including the Snow Fuji and Golden Fuji rooms), Kasuitei Ooya.
At Fuji Onsenji Yumedono the inn does not document a Fuji view from the rooms. There, the garden bath in every room is the reason to book, not the mountain.
When Mt Fuji is visible
There is no honest number for Lake Kawaguchi: we found no official count of visibility days for this location, and figures from other places cannot be transferred. What is certain is that clouds can hide the mountain for hours even on a good day. That is why Ryuguden explicitly says “in clear weather”.
Plan B for cloudy days
If the view matters to you, book an inn that is worth it even without Fuji: Kogetsu has open-air baths with onsen water in its second- and third-floor rooms, and Konohanakan has an onsen bath in all five rooms. Two nights improve the odds of seeing the mountain clear at least once.
Mt Fuji views in Hakone
Of the 14 Hakone ryokans on japanstays, only two state a Fuji view: Ryuguden at Lake Ashi, which states the view for every room, and Hakone Yuyado Zen in Sengokuhara with its “Mt. Fuji/Somma View” room type.
Travel details and all lakeside inns are on the page Ryokans at the Fuji Five Lakes.
