Japan Undiscovered

Fuji Marriott Hotel Lake Yamanaka: A Quiet Base Beneath the Mountain

Near Lake Yamanaka, an unpretentious Marriott with its own hot springs and a generous half-buffet dinner made an ideal place to rest before a dawn walk through the autumn forest at the foot of Mt Fuji.

Japan Undiscovered
Published · Visited Autumn 2020

Dawn on the road to the mountain, Fuji flushed red at its end.
Dawn on the road to the mountain, Fuji flushed red at its end.

Our verdict

This is a Marriott without the luxury trappings: relaxed, family-friendly and simple, with little beyond clean, softly lit rooms, a restaurant and natural hot spring baths. That simplicity suited our purpose. The half-buffet dinner offered fresh vegetables, house-made dressings and a hefty 300-gram steak, and given the price it was good value. As a place to rest before an early start on Fuji's lower slopes, it did exactly what we needed.

Recommended for

Hikers and walkers looking for a clean, comfortable and reasonably priced base for the Fuji foothills and Lake Yamanaka. Travelers wanting a destination hotel with extensive facilities should look elsewhere.

Area
Mt. Fuji, Japan
Type
Hotel
Visited
Autumn 2020
Read
5 min
On this page
  1. Not every Marriott is a palace
  2. A room with the forest at the window
  3. A half-buffet dinner
  4. Dawn at the foot of Fuji
  5. Into the forest
  6. Oshino Hakkai, on the way home

Six months had passed since we took up hiking. This time, the plan was to take on the king of mountains, Mt Fuji itself. Or so we would like to say: in truth, we still need a good deal more training. Instead, we planned a gentler trip, enjoying the autumn color around Fuji and wandering a little at the foot of the mountain to get a feel for the place.

Our base was a Marriott, a calm, neat hotel close to Lake Yamanaka and conveniently placed for this kind of outing.

Not every Marriott is a palace

The Marriott name tends to conjure up luxury hotels, but the group also includes many that you can enjoy at a reasonable price. This is one of them: relaxed, with no sense of formality, and popular with families.

As you might expect of a hotel set amid Yamanashi’s nature, the parking lot was very spacious. Through a simple entrance, we had our temperature taken as a Covid precaution and then waited for a while in the lobby. Looking around, we saw mostly young couples and families.

A room with the forest at the window

The room was uncluttered and softly lit, a genuinely comfortable place to be. It was simple but very clean. From the window we could see autumn leaves and open countryside, and we felt that we really were out in nature.

A clean, softly lit twin room with a sitting area by the window.
A clean, softly lit twin room with a sitting area by the window.
A cushioned window seat looking out onto bare and turning trees.
A cushioned window seat looking out onto bare and turning trees.
The view from the hotel: maples in red and gold across the slope.
The view from the hotel: maples in red and gold across the slope.

The hotel itself is very simple: there are rooms and a restaurant, and beyond that no facilities that particularly stand out. As a place to rest before a climb, though, it was ideal. It is also a hotel where Marriott Bonvoy points can bring the cost of a stay down considerably.

Being in Yamanashi, the hotel has its own hot springs: a large indoor bath and an open-air bath, both using natural hot spring water. That is a bonus that sets it slightly apart from a city hotel.

A half-buffet dinner

When dinner time came, we made our way to the restaurant. That evening’s format was a half-buffet: starters, salads and desserts were self-service from the buffet, and the main course was a choice of meat or fish. The wine was also reasonably priced.

The buffet offered everything from starters to soups and colorful vegetables, enough to fill you up on its own. The salad dressings were house-made, healthy and very good. We held our appetites back a little so that we could enjoy the mains.

From the buffet: a plate of salad and a creamy soup, with a glass of red.
From the buffet: a plate of salad and a creamy soup, with a glass of red.

The fish main was amadai (tilefish), cooked in the style of a poêlé, with a sauce that seemed to be made from pumpkin.

Pan-crisped tilefish on slate, with a bright yellow purée and grilled vegetables.
Pan-crisped tilefish on slate, with a bright yellow purée and grilled vegetables.

The meat main was a substantial cut of around 300 grams, and thoroughly satisfying. It was lean red meat, clean on the palate: just the protein we needed for the next day’s climb.

A thick, charred steak on a slate board, crowned with herbs.
A thick, charred steak on a slate board, crowned with herbs.

You choose only one of these mains, but the half-buffet left us very satisfied, and considering the price, it was even better value.

Dawn at the foot of Fuji

The next morning we set off for Mt Fuji at five o’clock. The late-autumn sky, with winter close at hand, was perfectly clear, and we were treated to a magnificent sunrise. On the drive, the morning sun turned the mountain red, like the famous Aka-Fuji (“red Fuji”).

Sunrise over the Fuji foothills, a lone streetlamp still lit.
Sunrise over the Fuji foothills, a lone streetlamp still lit.

We parked at a parking lot at the foot of the mountain, where hikers were arriving one after another. We set off from the very bottom for a short walk to warm up our legs.

Fuji's full silhouette above the parking lot and autumn trees.
Fuji’s full silhouette above the parking lot and autumn trees.

Into the forest

The mountain path climbs on a gentle, steady slope, and with fallen leaves carpeting the ground, it was very easy walking.

A great gnarled trunk reaching into a blue autumn sky.
A great gnarled trunk reaching into a blue autumn sky.
The roots of a fallen giant, backlit by the low morning sun.
The roots of a fallen giant, backlit by the low morning sun.
Moss and grasses colonising a porous black volcanic rock.
Moss and grasses colonising a porous black volcanic rock.
Clusters of scarlet berries among the leaf litter.
Clusters of scarlet berries among the leaf litter.

Along the way we came across deer again and again, which thrilled us. The forest on the mountain was completely hushed, and coming across strange plants, enormous trees and wild animals in the midst of all that nature, we felt truly glad to have come.

After about two hours of walking, we headed back down. The broad lower slopes are covered in forest where one wrong turn could lose you the trail. The way back took longer than the way in, but that too became a happy memory.

Oshino Hakkai, on the way home

On the way home we stopped at the well-known Oshino Hakkai, admiring its crystal-clear spring water and browsing the souvenirs, and rounded off our Yamanashi trip in style.

One of Oshino Hakkai's spring-fed ponds, perfectly clear, mirroring the trees.
One of Oshino Hakkai’s spring-fed ponds, perfectly clear, mirroring the trees.

The slopes at the foot of Fuji had been gentle, yet as soon as we got home the tiredness hit us all at once, and we fell into a deep sleep.

This review reflects a stay in autumn 2020. Facilities, dining formats and loyalty-program benefits change; please confirm current details directly with the hotel before visiting.

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