For a romantic trip in Japan, there are two things that you and your partner shouldn’t miss: (1) a visit to Kyoto, and (2) a stay at a Japanese ryokan with views of Mt Fuji.
On my partner and I’s first trip to Japan together, we knew we wanted to catch a glimpse of Fuji, and the Sunnide Resort in Fujikawaguchiko came highly recommended. It’s a traditional ryokan set in a small, quiet lakeside town just an hour or two from Tokyo, easily accessible from Shinjuku Station.
On the trip down from Tokyo I was amazed at how quickly the bustle of the city died away and the landscape shifted to mountains and beautiful foliage (for reference, we went in early December). The bus was reasonably comfortable and the ride got really exciting as we approached Fuji, with many travelers gasping in awe as the mountain started to peek out from between the trees and the view gradually became clearer. It was not my first time seeing Fuji, but I still couldn't contain my excitement. After seeing it on three different trips now I’ve found it’s the kind of sight that never gets old.
Upon arriving at the train station in Fujikawaguchiko you can find a variety of shuttle buses to take you to the resorts. For Sunnide Resort (and this is probably true of all resorts in the area), if you let them know ahead of time when you will be arriving they will arrange shuttle transportation to pick up you and other visitors, which creates a really easy experience for travelers.
If you’re going to stay at Sunnide my strong recommendation is to get a room with mountain views and an open-air bath. These baths are not onsen but feature gloriously hot water and a chance to sit in the privacy of your own tub with views of the lake and mountain. The room we got was the Grand Japanese/Western-style Suite, and at about $420 USD it turned out to be an incredible deal, with an extravagant multi-course dinner for both of us and a lovely breakfast buffet included.
The room itself was enormous, with a rustic-looking porch and bath, a massage chair, and a separate room with one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in. For English speakers, accommodations websites in Japan are notoriously hard to navigate, but we were able to figure out our booking relatively easily on Japanican.com.
While at Sunnide, if your outdoor bath isn’t enough you can always get an onsen fix by using Sunnide's public facilities, which are very nice. It was late at night when we tried them, but I know that the men’s outdoor onsen features great views of Fuji (in case your room does not). I’m not sure if the women’s onsen has the same views.
We wanted to spend two nights at Sunnide, but at the time we booked, we were only able to get one. However, it turned out to be plenty of time to enjoy our stay there. There’s not much to do except bathing and enjoying Fuji, although there are some decent hikes in the surrounding area, as well as ridiculously expensive boat rentals if that’s your kind of thing (IIRC it was ~$100 for 30 minutes).
After checking out at Sunnide we did a light hike around the lake, then walked through the small town afterward to get back to the train station. This turned out to be one of my favorite memories from Japan. We also found an excellent restaurant where we had two meals (an early lunch before hiking and an early dinner), directly across the street from the Fujikawaguchiko train station. It’s situated upstairs from a tourist shop, and offers great curry and Coke floats, not to mention more Fuji views.
One thing that’s really important to keep in mind when visiting Fuji is that there is no guarantee you will actually see the mountain. I’ve been to the towns of Hakone, Fujikawaguchiko, and Hayama on my travels to Japan, all of which have Fuji views when the sky is clear enough to see it. On each of those trips I was lucky enough to catch at least a brief view, but many people complain of never seeing even a trace of it. It is, unfortunately, a risk one must take when deciding to invest time and money on the experience.
Regardless of the view, you’re sure to have an incredibly relaxing stay in Fujikawaguchiko, and Sunnide Resort is an excellent choice for an unforgettable experience.
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