Kasuitei Ooya
花水庭おおや
Area photo — not the ryokan itself · Mount Fuji from Lake Kawaguchi, Yamanashi · Suicasmo / CC BY-SA 4.0
A century-old, family-friendly lakeside inn with generous kaiseki dinners (often served in your room) and rooftop baths over Lake Kawaguchi — but Mt Fuji is behind the building, the in-room open-air baths aren't onsen, and the building shows its age
Kasuitei Ooya has stood on the south shore of Lake Kawaguchi since 1923. Today it's a 46-room inn built around a courtyard garden with a waterfall, with a lobby lounge renovated in 2023, rooftop baths renovated in 2024, and two self-catering lakeside villas nearby. Location matters here: the town shore faces north, so lake-side rooms look across the water to the Misaka mountains, not to Mt Fuji. The 'Fuji-side' rooms in the newer wing see the mountain over the rooftops in clear weather, and inner rooms have no view at all. Japanese guests rate it 4.5 across 1,329 reviews on one major site (service 4.7, dinner 4.6) and 4.39 across 795 on another, where location scores 4.51 and baths only 4.11. Most recent evidence comes from these booking-site reviews; independent travel posts from 2023–2024 say much the same. The praise is consistent: dinners so big that guests can't finish them, kaiseki brought to your room for parties of two to four, friendly staff, a free station shuttle and real care for babies. Know before you book: the open-air baths in the rooms use heated 'Mt Fuji water', deliberately not onsen. Complaints from 2024–2026 include weak showers in those baths, a mouldy shower head in a rooftop bath, an old building with few slow lifts, worn yukata and a stained jacket, dust, a mechanical clanking all night, patchy Wi-Fi, thin walls and cold miso soup. Two-meal stays run about ¥19,800–44,600 per person.
Room Selection Guide
What the guests who stayed here actually recommendRecommended
Japanese rooms with an open-air bath — hinoki (top floor) or Shigaraki stoneware (12 tatami plus a window-side sitting area)
The inn's most popular rooms, facing the lake; the hinoki rooms are on the top floor, and the Shigaraki tub is sized for one. A January 2025 guest liked that the bath is ready at any hour, with a glass door and a heated changing area; an April 2024 guest soaked while watching the lights of the far shore, and a March 2025 couple used one for a proposal, with staff helping with surprises. Remember the water is heated 'Mt Fuji water', not onsen, and several guests found the shower pressure weak.
Lake-side Japanese rooms (10 tatami) or the lake-side Japanese-modern rooms with a twin bedroom, for families
Standard rooms sleep up to five, and the large 20-tatami rooms suit three generations — a September 2026 party of nine gathered in one, and an August 2026 group stayed with four generations. Lake-side rooms look out over the water and the ropeway (June 2024). The Japanese-modern rooms add a bedroom with twin beds but have a shower booth, not a tub. For Fuji, ask for a Fuji-side room in the newer wing: a September 2025 guest who asked when booking got one, and a 2024 family saw the mountain from their room at sunrise.
Request To Avoid
Inner rooms, the no-bath 8-tatami rooms and the discounted 'wake-ari' rooms
These face inwards with no view at all — the inn says so plainly. In August 2025 a guest in one heard a mechanical clanking about every 10 minutes all night, and an October 2026 guest in an inner Japanese-modern twin found a worn yukata and a stained haori jacket and called the building old. Some inner Japanese-modern rooms have a small private courtyard, but you can't request one.
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Dining Deep Dive
Breakfast Consensus
4.3/5A Japanese set breakfast, usually in a banquet hall, with miso soup ladled hot once you sit down and an egg you fry yourself in a small pan — reviewers call it hearty, though one 2024 guest missed coffee
Call from Kawaguchiko Station on arrival for the free shuttle (14:00–19:00; back to the station 8:00–10:00). Book the rooftop private bath 'Ukifune' (¥3,300 for 50 minutes) when you reserve — it's reached by stairs from the sixth floor. Breakfast in your room costs ¥1,650 per person extra. During the winter and summer fireworks, staff point guests to the pier next door, and in August 2024 the inn set out chairs for guests in front.
Dinner Insights
4.4/5Seasonal kaiseki served in your room for parties of two to four (private dining rooms for five or more, or table seating in the Kagura-chaya private rooms, renovated in 2019). The standard menu includes the inn's own hōtō noodle hotpot in house miso, tuna, amberjack and botan-shrimp sashimi, snow crab, beef stew and rice cooked with ancient grains grown at Kawaguchiko. A hōtō kaiseki adds abalone, and extras include horse sashimi, wakasagi tempura and wagyu steak on a hot stone. Almost every review mentions the size; leftover rice was made into onigiri in 2024. Critics: a September 2026 guest found it disappointing at ¥35,000 a head, a January 2026 family got cold miso soup and long waits between courses, and another 2026 guest wanted rice in a bowl, served warm. The inn's FAQ says it can't handle allergies for children's meals, though a January 2024 family had an egg-free menu arranged smoothly — ask ahead.
Onsen & Wellness Realities
Fujikawaguchiko Onsen: a calcium-sodium sulphate-chloride spring (hypotonic, alkaline). A booking site lists the water as heated; the inn doesn't say whether it's free-flowing or recirculated. The open-air baths in the rooms use heated 'Mt Fuji water', deliberately not onsen, so that guests who avoid spring water can use them.
Two sets of shared baths, each with indoor and outdoor tubs: Tenkū no Yu (men) and Tennyo no Yu (women) on the top floor, facing the lake (15:00–24:00 and 5:00–10:00), and Seiryū no Yu and Kotei no Yu in the basement, with a sauna, a cascade shower and an outdoor bath among rocks by a small waterfall (the FAQ lists 24 hours; the bath page says 15:00–24:00 and 5:00–10:00). A May 2026 guest found the rooftop outdoor tub small (about three people) and possibly visible from outside; a September 2026 guest found mould on its shower heads. Reviewers disagree on Fuji: one saw it on a morning bath trip in August 2026, while another wrote in July 2026 that the baths don't look towards it. The paid rooftop private bath has a lake view; in 2024 the baths had baby cots.
No policy found on the official site or Japanese booking sites — contact the inn. The rooms with an open-air bath and the paid private bath avoid the issue.
Local Warnings & Nuances
- 01
Check-in 15:00–18:00 (until 22:00 without dinner), check-out 10:00; late check-out costs ¥3,300 an hour. Bath tax is ¥150 per adult.
- 02
Cancellation: 20% from 7 to 4 days before, 30% at 3–2 days, 50% the day before, 100% on the day or for no-shows; individual plans may differ.
- 03
Mt Fuji is behind the inn. Lake-side rooms face the lake and the hills opposite, Fuji-side rooms see it over the town in clear weather, and inner rooms have no view, so state your preference when booking.
- 04
A large, older building: guests in 2025–2026 mention few, slow lifts, dust, Wi-Fi that keeps dropping and sound carrying between rooms. The 2023–2024 renovations brightened the lobby and rooftop baths.
- 05
Very child-friendly: primary-school children pay 70%, infants sharing bedding are free under 1 and ¥2,750 from age 1, and baby soap, wipes, nappy bins and baby chairs are set out or available on request. No pets; non-smoking throughout, with a smoking booth; 50 free parking spaces.
Before your stay
Souvenirs from Lake Kawaguchi and practical help for your trip.
Lake Kawaguchi souvenirs on Rakuten
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Things to do nearby
Lake Kawaguchi: sights, experiences and seasonal events from Trip Gacha, our sister site.
Fuji Kawaguchiko Autumn Leaves Festival
See on Trip Gacha
Mt. Fuji & Lake Kawaguchi Day Trip
See on Trip Gacha
Fuji-Q Highland Thrill Coasters
See on Trip GachaPhoto credits
- Fuji-Q Highland Thrill Coasters: Olivier Bruchez from Lausanne, Switzerland / CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Sources
The real blog posts and stay reports this article draws on
- 河口湖畔日式溫泉旅館♨️女子旅行with一泊二食😋 (Trip.com Trip Moments, 2023)
- 東京 | 大推富士山房景 河口湖溫泉旅館高質一泊兩食 (Trip.com Trip Moments, 2024)
- Experience Tranquility at Kasuitei Ooya Ryokan near Mt. Fuji (Lemon8, 2024)
- 富士河口湖温泉 花水庭 おおや クチコミ・レビュー (楽天トラベル)
- 富士河口湖温泉 花水庭 おおや 宿泊予約 (楽天トラベル)
- 花水庭おおや クチコミ・評価 (じゃらんnet)
- 花水庭おおや - 宿泊予約 (じゃらんnet)
- 花水庭おおや - クチコミ・評判 (一休.com)
- お部屋 | 花水庭おおや【公式】
- 【公式】花水庭おおや
Featured in our guides
Side-by-side comparisons that include this ryokan.
Photo credits
- Mount Fuji from Lake Kawaguchi, Yamanashi · Suicasmo / CC BY-SA 4.0
More Consensus Reports
Area photoLake KawaguchiClassic
Kawaguchi, Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi — on the quiet north shore of Lake Kawaguchi, facing Mt Fuji across the water, about 10 minutes by free shuttle from Kawaguchiko Station (the lakeside sightseeing bus stops at the Kubota Itchiku Art Museum, by the inn)
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Shuhokaku Kogetsu
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A 43-room lakeside inn where every room faces Mt Fuji across Lake Kawaguchi, with kaiseki served in your room and free drinks on a foot-bath terrace — but the baths are recirculated, standard rooms have only a shower, and dinner moves to a dining hall from April 2027
Read the ConsensusArea photoLake KawaguchiClassic
Funatsu, Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi — on the lakeside road on the south shore of Lake Kawaguchi, opposite a large lakeside car park, about 10 minutes' walk (or a free shuttle) from Kawaguchiko Station
11 sources
Fuji-Kawaguchiko Onsen Konanso
富士河口湖温泉郷 湖南荘
A big, polished lakeside inn that still serves kaiseki dinner in your room, with Mt Fuji from the rooftop foot bath — but it stands on the town shore, so 40 of its 50 rooms face the lake rather than Fuji, and the heated spring water has little character
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Area photoLake KawaguchiPremium
Kawaguchi, Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi — on a steep slope above Lake Kawaguchi facing Mt Fuji, about 15 minutes by taxi from Kawaguchiko Station (no shuttle)
9 sources
FUFU Kawaguchiko
ふふ 河口湖
Thirty-two Mt Fuji-facing suites, each with a lava-stone open-air bath and fireplace, and two MICHELIN Keys — but the Fuji view varies by room, the in-room baths don't appear to be free-flowing, and 2025–2026 guests complain of three-hour dinners and uneven service
- Private Onsen Rooms
Area photoLake KawaguchiPremium
Asakawa, Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi — on the Ubuyagasaki headland on the north shore of Lake Kawaguchi, facing Mt Fuji across the water, about 10 minutes by taxi or free shuttle from Kawaguchiko Station
10 sources
Kozantei Ubuya
湖山亭うぶや
A big, celebration-themed lakeside inn where every room faces Mt Fuji across Lake Kawaguchi — but the in-room open-air baths aren't onsen, dinner is now a buffet or shabu-shabu, and Fuji often hides in summer
Read the Consensus
Area photoUreshino OnsenClassic
Ureshino Onsen, Saga — in the middle of the spa town, two minutes' walk from the Ureshino Onsen bus stop and about 5 minutes by car from Ureshino-Onsen shinkansen station
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Ureshino Onsen Taishoya
嬉野温泉 大正屋
Ureshino's century-old town-centre inn: Junzo Yoshimura architecture around a cedar garden, spring water in every room's bath and the famous 'melting' onsen tofu at breakfast — but the shared baths are recirculated, the much-extended building is a maze of stairs, and the dining hall is big and busy
- Historic Ryokan
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Ureshino OnsenClassic
Ureshino Onsen, Saga — 20,000 tsubo of grounds spanning the Ureshino river, with a Kisho Kurokawa tower and a detached annex
9 sources
Wataya Bessou
和多屋別荘
A sprawling riverside resort reinventing itself with tea, books, a Pierre Hermé shop and workspaces around a 1977 Kisho Kurokawa tower — great water and dinners, but choose a renovated room
- Design-Led
Photo credits: Mount Fuji from Lake Kawaguchi, Yamanashi · Suicasmo / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Siebold-no-yu public bath, Ureshino Onsen, Saga · STA3816 / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wataya Bessou on the Ureshino river, Ureshino Onsen · STA3816 / CC BY-SA 4.0
Kasuitei Ooya
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