I’m going on a 9-day trip in Japan (Tokyo>Kyoto>Tokyo) and looking for a 1 night stay at a Ryokan. To avoid the crowds of NYE and New Year’s day in Kyoto, I did some research and am stoked to see Mt. Fuji at Lake Kawaguchiko.
Unfortunately all the ryokan’s with great views of Mt. Fuji are either booked up or they haven’t opened up reservations yet? I’m looking at most of them and they don’t seem to have availability on 12/30 and 12/31…I know this is high season, but does anyone know if there is a chance that reservations are not open since it’s not 3 months out yet?
Alternatively, if they are booked I’m looking for good recommendations for a scenic and calm 2-day/1 night trip between Tokyo/Kyoto that’s easy to get to. I’ve considered Hakone, but not as excited about it compared to Kawaguchiko and the Fuji Five Lakes. Originally I’ve also thought about heading to Takayama/Kanazawa but got turned off by the length of the trip there and how little time I have.
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Assuming you start at Nihombashi, Tokyo-Kawaguchiko is two hours and Tokyo-Kanazawa is three hours – surely the additional hour is not a major disruptor in the grand scheme of things
Another option near Tokyo is Nikko next to Chuzenji Lake
Maybe it depends on what site you’re using. I just tried myself, searching on [booking.com](https://booking.com) and came up with quite a few options directly along the lake on 12/30. Were you only looking on 12/31 (admittedly I’m not finding many options on this date either)? You mentioned both dates on your post.
Of the options I see on 12/30, I see Hotel Asafuji is open. I stayed there when I went to Kawaguchiko and cannot recommend them enough, absolutely amazing service there and the manager was the nicest lady ever.
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>if there is a chance that reservations are not open since it’s not 3 months out yet?
Generally speaking, 3 months out is not much time to book accommodation in popular places. It’s not uncommon for people to try to book these even further out. For example I am going to Japan in February, and I already booked all my hotels for that trip, and lots of places have been booking out.
You should search Fujikawaguchiko I see plenty of rooms with Mt Fuji views. Also if you want somewhere quiet this might be a good option too https://hoshinoya.com/fuji/en/
Some ryokans don’t release dates until 3 months before. One of ours was 6 months.
I think there’s a good chance many ryokans will be closed for new years, especially if they’re family operated. if they are showing bookings a few days before and a few days after I wouldn’t expect anything to open up. I ran into this issue new years 2023