Kiyosato Kogen Hotel

All of the rooms face the south and with the possible exception of a few on the lower floor have a view of Fuji San and the Southern Japan Alps. This is a well maintained older hotel, built in the late 1980's during the "bubble" when Kiyosato was being promoted as a high end resort, second home area. We were there in early May so cherry trees were still in bloom and the sound of nightingales rang through the air all of the time. It features stargazing from a small observatory just be aware that in Japan frequently the cloud cover will prevent any actual sightings. The ofuro (large bath) was clean, the water hot, but on the small side, and for some reason it is necessary to bring towels from your room. This is the first time I have run across this quirk. The food was either "Western" or Japanese and well prepared. The chicken was not sufficiently cooked to my taste, but my wife claims this is the Japanese style. I was moderately impressed by the meal, my wife on the other hand thought it quite good, chicken excepted. Unlike most, nay all other Japanese hotels I have stayed at breakfast was served at the table and was not buffet style. It was adequate, and tasty just not what I am accustomed to. On the whole a nice enough place to stay if you want to tour the Kiyosato area. Shuttle service is available to and from the train station if you choose not to drive up from the city.

We checked in on a quiet, misty night, so there was no stargazing session (available nightly at observation deck upstairs). Check-in was tricky as the reception staff spoke little English. After 15 minutes, another lady, whom we assume to be a manager, stepped in to assist and she spoke decent English. Wondered why they didn't enlist her help from the start. Room was spacious and overlooked a pond. Thankfully, by the next morning the mist had cleared and we could see a bit of Mt Fuji without its trademark snow cap from our room. An even more impressive sight awaited us when we got down to the pond! Blue skies and mountain views made for great postcard shots. When we checked out, a senior staff member even helped us with our bags to the shuttle bus.

Go to this hotel of you are in the area, it is fantastic! Went with a mate who also loves Japan and this hotel with its onsens, location, great staff and food meet the mark! It takes two trains from Tokyo and when at Kiyosato station a phone call ensures a pick up five mins later. Will be back a number of times based on this experience.