We had a lovely time at the Fuji-Hakone Guest House. From checking in with us ahead of our stay and sharing tips about travel to Hakone, helping us reserve tables for dinner, arranging for dropoff and pickup from restaurants, and introducing us to some traditional games, to the many amenities prepared, the hosts ensured that our stay an excellent one. Ted welcomed us warmly and was very helpful and approachable throughout our stay. The indoor and outdoor onsens are both great. The onsens are cleaned every day during the day and there's a reservation system per room for the evening and morning time slots, which are available at 30 min intervals. Note the outdoor onsen has a 500 yen fee per person. It's possible to purchase some detergent and do laundry. The room was quite comfortable and had a nice view of the bamboo right outside. I would highly recommend heeding the warnings about consolidating luggage/using storage services and traveling light to Hakone since the buses tend to be very full and there is very limited space in public transportation.

One minor thing that could be improved is the number of towels provided at arrival. New towels are made available by putting the old ones outside the door, but having more towels at arrival could make the stay a bit more comfortable, especially for those with longer hair. Though, I understand that there may be resource constraints, and the current system works too!

Overall, the experience is positive, but I think several points need to be added for future reference: 1. There is no private toilet in the room. The toilet needs to be shared. Each floor has one male and female restroom. Luckily, no one fights as no one occupies the restroom for long. 2. There is no public hotspring. There are two private ones, one indoor and one paid outdoor, catering two people at a time. When it's private, it means that you need to make a booking. The hostel has an organized system that breaks the day down into several 30-minute slots. The peak periods are morning and evening from 7pm. Again, there is no fighting or arguments over the use. This is good! 3. There is a common area with two rooms on the same floor. It was expected to be noisy (esp. with a piano) if you stayed on that floor. However, the host has set clear rules that there shouldn't be any noise after 11pm. Even though I stayed on that floor, the common area had been quiet. I enjoyed two peaceful and quiet nights in the hostel. 4. There is a paid washing and drying machine. Instructions are clear. 5. The location is the best if you are going to hike Mt. Kintoki. 6. You don't have to worry about restaurants as there is a list of restaurants in walking distance. There is also a supermarket nearby. What's good about this hostel is that the instructions and system are all very clear and the host is very helpful. People who booked their stay here have understood it well.

I absolutely loved my relaxing stay here at Fuji-Hakone. I wasn’t expecting this level of hospitality; both Tetsuya and Lisa and the family went above and beyond to give me great restaurant recommendations to suit the time of day and even checked to see if they could help me make a reservation. The location is great, only a 2 minute walk to the bus stop which easily connects you to other towns and attractions in Hakone. There are also great restaurants and a beautiful grass field within walking distance. The place is immaculately clean, and they offer to change your towels to fresh towels daily. I was supplied with a yukata: traditional japanese loungewear which came in handy for going to the shower and onsen. The private onsen both outdoors and indoors are very easy to book upon arrival, but I would recommend booking in morning of or night before you go out, as during the time i stayed, there was 1 night where the outdoor onsen from fully booked. But the family was so kind and to somehow be able to slot me in, and were communicative on Booking messaging while i was out during the day. The onsen is AMAZING, and it is cleaned daily. The traditional japanese room was so clean, and the beds were soooo comfy. I loved being able to open the screen and see the river every day out my window. There’s also a heater and air conditioning which you can adjust to your liking. The family went above and beyond, even helping me ship my luggage to Hakone-Yumoto station on my last day so I can enjoy sightseeing, and even disposing of my old suitcase when it broke and I had to buy a new one. The private onsen is FANTASTIC and i enjoyed it every night and even some mornings before going out.

The only thing that I would suggest improving on is the addition of a Japanese style breakfast, that would be amazing. Currently, there only exists an option for a Western style breakfast. I did not try it, but it looks like great value for 1100 yen. Another thing I felt is that the Onsen are just slightly too hot (I visited in late November), however you can easily overcome this by sitting out for a few minutes before dipping back in. I imagine in the dead of winter, it would be the perfect temperature!

The location was amazing and gave another view of the beautiful area around Hakone. The room layout and decorating took us a trip back in time and we just wanted to sit in that beautiful room with our yukatas all day. The onsen was a unique experience and as we were informed it had among the best water quality in the area. Everything so well maintained and great japanese aesthetics. Also our hosts were all lovely and had awesome discussions with them. Keep up the good work!! 😊

The fact we could only spend one night 😔 next time we will definitely schedule more time there 😃

The location is awesome, I can easily get to everywhere in Hakone. And the staff who helped me checking in was so welcoming, she shared a lot of information I needed. In door onsen room is able reserve the time slot and make it privately to you that is what I am needed. The room I stayed located at the far end corner of this guesthouse, I can hear river sound, really made me recharging.

The shortcut way from main road to the property doesn’t have light.

The guest house is so clean!!! The staff even wiped the wheels of our cabin luggage before bringing it in. Out 6 and 7 year old children loved the onsen which surprised me. The outdoor and indoor onsens are lovely and very clean. The hosts are very friendly and hospitable and offered us a bigger and more comfortable room after the first night when the opportunity arose after a cancellation. Mr Takahashi and his family speak excellent English and provide excellent suggestions for access, transportation and food. The guesthouse is quite far in from Odawara station (50 minute bus ride) but very close to the various modes of transportation to the attractions. We had a lovely stay. And by the way, it’s my second visit after 20 years to the same guest house and it’s even better than I remembered :-)

The manager, 'Ted' was always available, always helpful, and provided lots of useful hints and tips about local information, restaurants and travel options. The best tip was to bring a small towel for the foot spa at the Open air Museum !! The place was very clean, tidy and well organised. The outdoor onsen was fab and had a good booking system. Overall it was quiet and I had a wpnderful night's sleep!

The private onsen, both indoor and outdoor was great, it was an easy booking system. The host were very service minded and accommodating. Free shuttlebus service from guesthouse to restaurant for dinner.

A little pricy to use the outdoor onsen, 500yen pr. Person. And it is far from sights, the roads were a little unsafe so we relied on busses (but we did have a hakone free pass and the bus stop was 2min away)

We had a great spacious and traditional room with a sort of indoor terras which was lovely to sit in and listen to the flowing stream next to the room. Very kind staff who also gave very nice tips for eating, traveling around for sights and for visiting the Daimonji-yaki festival.

There is a curfew to be inside the at 10PM, so just a thing to be aware of when planning your day.

Everything, especially the warm welcome from the family who own the place (big up to Tetsuya-San!!) and the perfect private and tattoo friendly onsen