Bessho SASA
unscored · Ikyu 4.4 / 5no first-hand write-up in the thread
Bessho Sasa is the adults-only private-onsen-suite annex of Hotel Kaneyamaen in Fujiyoshida, where every suite gets its own Fuji-facing hot-spring bath and in-suite counter kaiseki. Its own Ikyu guests are split, and a 4.38 average over 61 reviews covers guests who question whether the premium floor is worth its price over the main hotel alongside guests who call the Fuji views and taiko welcome unforgettable.
Scores
Food
Dinner is kaiseki served in the suite at a live counter, and the lounge pours Yamanashi wine and beer free of charge. Food is where Ikyu guests are least happy, at 4.07 their lowest mark, and the reviews split between guests who enjoyed every course and guests who left disappointed with the meals.
Bath
Every suite has its own natural hot-spring open-air bath facing Mt. Fuji, and Kaneyamaen's 10th-floor observatory bath looks at the mountain too. The spring is around pH 10, and the shared baths are those of the big family hotel downstairs. Ikyu guests give the bath 4.57, their highest mark.
Service
Arrival brings a traditional welcome and a taiko drum performance, and the taiko is what Ikyu guests keep naming as the best part of the stay, even in reviews critical of the food. The service itself is praised across the reviews, including the critical ones, and Ikyu guests give it 4.44.
Room
The suites are the premium floor of a large hotel, the fourth and fifth storeys of Kaneyamaen, and they are adults only. Ikyu guests give the rooms 4.34, one of their lower marks here, and the critical reviews ask whether the premium floor justifies its price over the main hotel.
Place
The suites are the top two floors of Hotel Kaneyamaen, a large ryokan in Fujiyoshida, and they are placed for the view of Mt. Fuji, so the stay hinges on whether the mountain shows, and the Ikyu reviews turn on it, with cloud on arrival a recurring disappointment and a clear morning the highlight. Downstairs is lively and full of families, which some guests enjoy and others find mass-market.
Getting there
- Tokyo — 2h, 0 transfers. Reverse of: JR 'Fuji Excursion' Ltd Exp Kawaguchiko→Shinjuku direct (~2h, ~4/day). Miss it → Fujikyu→Ōtsuki + Chūō Ltd Exp = ~2h25, 1 change.
- Kyoto — 4h15, 1 transfer. Round the south side of Fuji rather than back through Tokyo: Fujikyu 'Mishima·Kawaguchiko Liner' bus Kawaguchiko→Mishima (~1h30–1h40, roughly hourly, ¥2,700 — japan-guide, Oct 2025), one change at Mishima, then the Tōkaidō Shinkansen Mishima→Kyoto (~1h51 on a Hikari that calls at Mishima, ~2h27 on the all-stations Kodama — ekitan). ~4h15 door-to-door with the inn shuttle and the change. (Via Tokyo — 'Fuji Excursion'→Shinjuku, cross to Tokyo Station, 'Nozomi'→Kyoto — is ~4h30 and two changes, and the Fuji Excursion runs only ~4/day.)