Fujiyoshida Hotels with Balcony

"I booked this hotel because the promotion made it seem luxurious, but the surroundings feel odd, almost like all the trees have been removed by purpose, littered with dry leaves and fallen branches. It feels dirty and poorly cared for. I was expecting a neatly landscaped area with grass and trees, but instead, the outside feels like a barren, lifeless space. That said, the inside of the room looks very good. The accommodation consists of two separate large caravan‑style rooms. They are not very spacious, but they are sufficient for a family of four. One of the rooms has slightly less living space because it includes a larger bathroom, with a full‑size bathtub. This is something you rarely find in Tokyo, where most bathtubs are quite small, so this was a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, we struggled with the bathtub controls as it was written in Japanese, we couldn't use it after all. Also, the heating system are all labeled in Japanese, and there were no clear instructions in English. As a result, we didn’t figure out how to use the heating until the second night. We stayed for two nights in total. There is an outdoor spa area, which is interesting and enjoyable. We used it and found it quite good, although it is small. It works best for two people, three is a tight squeeze, and four would be uncomfortable. The sauna is decent and operates daily. Breakfast is served at set times rather than as a buffet, likely because the hotel only has 14 rooms. Guests must choose a time slot, such as 7:00, 7:30, 8:00, 8:30. We chose 8:30. Breakfast is a set menu rather than self‑service. Each morning includes a starter, a main dish, and some small item to finish, well enough for us. The first day was Japanese‑style, with a rice‑based dish. The second day was Western‑style, with a sandwich as the main course and fried eggs with pork belly. The food tasted good, but we would have appreciated more water. We did not ask for refills, as staff left the area after serving. Finding the hotel is a bit difficult. The entrance sign is blocked by a car park sign, making it very easy to miss. You need to drive very slowly, or you will pass it without realising it. We spent several minutes searching before realising this was the place. Be prepared to see a car park with two signs, where one directly blocks the hotel’s entrance sign."

"We stayed as a group of 5 people. The house was very neat, clean, and comfortable. It has all the necessary dishes and appliances (with the exception of a clothes dryer, perhaps, but there's a laundromat a 2-minute walk away). If you're staying for 1-3 nights with a large group, I definitely recommend it. But for a longer stay, say a week, it might be better to look for a better option. Downsides: - A railway line is located 5 meters from the house (it didn't bother us much, as we're used to train noise, but the trains were very audible). - Poor sound insulation inside the house. - No reception or anyone to contact for a quick response. - No designated smoking area. - No drinking water in the room. - Very small TV (considering the room is for 6 people, it's impossible for everyone to watch a movie together). TVs in other hotels in Japan are considerably larger (a subjective drawback). - Very thin futons (again, we traveled a lot around Japan, and this was the first time we saw such thin futons). - Only 1 toilet for 3 bedrooms (a subjective drawback). - Strange layout of the kitchen and living areas – on the second floor (a subjective drawback). - HORRENDOUS check-in system. Overall, it's understandable, but their passport recognition system via photo might not work immediately, might not work on certain phones, or might not open at all. After photographing your passport, you'll have to painfully manually enter some data on a large tablet, with a keyboard smaller than a phone's. And then you'll still have to make a video call to confirm the stay of all guests previously listed by passport data. The tablet connection with the operator is terrible. Very bad, Rakuten, this is the best anti-advertisement for internet and communication I've ever seen."