Kaminoyu Onsen

Kaminoyu is one of the popular hotels in Kofu city, known for its hot spring baths and panoramic city view.

It stands on a hill on the outskirts of Kofu, on the side closer to Shosenkyo. Finding the place is a bit of a challenge – you’ll need to get into narrow residential streets and follow the signs telling you where to turn, so I’d recommend getting there before dark. Obviously, I had my own car, and I think it’s not very convenient for people using public transit to stay there.

I arrived early enough to get the kashikiri rotenburo key without waiting. They have this lovely outdoor bath you can have all to yourself, it’s a small round tub standing on a balcony, with the city panorama spreading below and Fuji peeking out from behind the distant mountain range. Sitting in that tub watching Fuji in the setting sun definitely made my day and was also one of the highlights of the whole trip.

The common bath downstairs that I tried out the next morning was not as spectacular. It has a large indoor space with many tubs and an outdoor tub as well, but it’s shielded with a screen, so there’s basically no view. The breakfast (I didn’t book dinner) was okay, but nothing really stood out. The room was spacious and had the same panoramic view that I enjoyed from the kashikiri bath.

One thing I didn’t like was the strong chemical smell in all public areas of the 3rd floor where I was staying – maybe they were treating it with something. It was probably a temporary thing (and there was no smell inside the room), but still it made my stay less enjoyable.

Overall I think it’s a nice ryokan, although seems a bit overpriced for what you get. If you’re in the area and travelling by car, it’s worth stopping by to check out the baths – I’m sure they allow the day use of their facilities.

Hotel’s official website (Japanese)