Kawaguchiko Country Cottage Ban

Tranquil, beautiful views of Mt. Fuji, short distance to Kawaguchiko lakeside, cute breakfast delivered fresh to your cabin every morning, shuttle service

Sadly, the Netflix option on the remote didn’t work so we could only watch Japanese channels such as NHK, but that wasn’t the purpose of our stay. Either it didn’t work or we were too stupid to figure it out. Either way, not important, just a very slight nuisance

Everything was amazing! Friendly and welcoming staff who went above and beyond to help. After Days of walking this was a warming welcome to a relaxed and peaceful environment. The private hot tub and sauna was amazing. Breakfast delivered to your room, 10/10!

The food situation, not much to choose from so bring your own to ensure your personal requirements are met.

The location is absolutely beautiful, with stunning views over the lake towards Mount Fuji. We had a lot of rain and cloud during our stay, but one morning the clouds cleared around 6 am and the view of Mount Fuji was incredible. The traditional Japanese-style cottage was charming, comfortable and had everything we needed, including a lovely balcony overlooking the lake. I would strongly recommend having your own car, though, as the property is a little out of the way and getting around the area without one could be quite difficult.

Check-in was quite unorganised and very strict, with no option to leave our luggage before 3 pm, which was frustrating after a long day of travelling. Some of the extra facilities also felt overpriced, particularly the sauna, onsen and laundry, as these were not included in the accommodation price.

The cottage itself was okay, quite cozy once you get the heating up and running. It can get very cold inside because the cabins aren’t insulated and they just don’t get the kinds of winters we get in canada. So, you do have to pump up the heat. Everything feels like it could do with updating, and there are little things that are in disrepair. In the one toilet, there's a wire sticking out by the plug. The faucet in the shower room drips. Everything just feels like it's been done on the cheap. All-in-all, it’s a good location because of the view, as long as you get a good cabin. We just didn’t appreciate the reception deception! Also, the one staff member seemed to run everything (no one else seemed able to make decisions), and he wasn’t at all helpful, accommodating, or seemed happy in general. The cabins are very large, and you could probably fit 2-4 adults, and a bunch of kids in the loft. It has a full-sized fridge, small kitchen with the basics, a safe (although it said low battery the whole time), and smart TV. The TV’s in the main room where the large dining room table sits. There’s no snug place to sit and watch TV. We used some of the mattress pads and quilts to create a sort of couch on the floor next to the table. It can get quite windy here, being up on the hill, and you may hear things falling on the roof at night, but that's just part of the experience. It feels very much like staying at your grandparent’s cottage in muskoka or haliburton before they got central heating or insulation. There are 2 toilet rooms, and then a larger space with a sink and separate shower room. There needs to be some hooks and rails in the shower room for towels, clothing, etc. There was shampoo, conditioner, body wash. Also, hooks are needed by the sink. The breakfast was ok: 2 boiled eggs, bread that you can toast, butter, jam, orange/apple juice, 2 slices of fruit, broth with vegetables (cabbage, carrots, potatoes), and then either sausage or chicken.

We had booked months prior to coming, and had made certain requests, and when we got there, they assigned us a cabin E1. It was right across from the reception, on the parking lot, which was noisy with cars coming and going, people talking loudly outside, car doors slamming, etc. It was terrible. We requested another cabin and were told that it’s only at that moment that it would be busy around the cabin. I said, “It’s going to be like this every day at check-in and check-out.” We were then told that no other cabins were available. When we started to get upset, the man running reception then said he’ll show us E2. I thought there were no other cabins available! E2 was even worse because, not only is it also across from reception and on the parking lot, it’s recessed a bit, and you didn't get any view of mount fuji. Again, we went to reception and were looking for other places to stay in the area - it's a lot of money to stay at this place and it didn’t look at all as advertised: cozy, rustic cabins in the hills with nothing but woods all around. We asked if there was perhaps another cabin style that we could switch to. He then said that we can look at E3. Again, I thought all the cabins were occupied!? So, we finally decided on E3 which was a little away from reception and all the noise, although still on the parking lot, and not at all like the woodsy experience that they promote. It did have a great view of mount fuji. The whole experience has left a bad taste now tainting this review, but i’ll try to be objective. Also, there was no cleaning service for any of the days we were there (4 days), which was fine for us, but just wanted to mention it – fresh dishes would’ve been nice. You may be able to request a cleaning.