Mount Fuji Hotel Deal

Above, a shinkansen view of Mount Fuji in 2015. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

During my eight trips to Japan over the years, one of the rarest things for me was to get a clear daytime view of Mount Fuji.

During G-TOUR in 2004, we drove up the mountain to one of the Fifth Stations. Although we had clear views, we were too up close (well, we were on the mountainside) to really savor the majestic shape of the mountain. We were able to see the full shape one night during the trip. It was during a fireworks festival at Lake Kawaguchi were we were able to see all of Mount Fuji, but in silhouette.

In was only during my 2015 trip to Japan that I caught clear views of it aboard the shinkansen.

Since such clear views of Mount Fuji are so infrequent, and even rarer for travelers, a hotel in Yamanashi Prefecture has a special deal for tourists.

Japan Today reported:

TOKYO - It’s kind of ironic that while Mt Fuji is one of, if not the absolute, most iconic views of Japan, it’s also one of the least reliable. Due to the surrounding weather patterns and topography, Mt Fuji is often covered in clouds and mists, much to the disappointment of travelers with their cameras out and ready as they speed past it on the Shinkansen, or, even more heartbreakingly, who make reservations at local hotels specifically for the purpose of gazing upon the mountain’s majesty. 

Visibility is an especially big concern for the guests of Yamanashi Prefecture’s Hotel Mt Fuji. As you can guess from its name, the hotel’s main draw is its Fuji views, not only from its guestrooms but also from its rooftop open-air baths, which were newly renovated this past August. 

The management knows that guests who happen to stay at the hotel on a cloudy day are probably going to go home disappointed, and so it has a plan to help ease the pain. Between Jan 9 and 19, if you’re unable to see the peak of Mt. Fuji for at least a minute due to cloudy or snowy weather between when you check in and check out, you can come back and stay at the hotel for another night free of charge on a later date.

To read more, go here.