Ubuya
unscored · Rakuten 4.4 / 5no first-hand write-up in the thread
Kozantei Ubuya has the best Fuji view of any ryokan on Lake Kawaguchi, at $480–770 a night, a real saving over Fufu, and KI-NRT calls the property itself solid but not on the level of Fufu. Rakuten guests are consistently warm, putting it at 4.36 over 717 reviews with the lake-and-Fuji location their highest mark at 4.79 and the buffet dinner their lowest at 4.0. The view sets it apart, and everything else about the stay is solid without being a showstopper.
Scores
Food
KI-NRT has heard that the food isn't amazing, merely very good, though he has not eaten here himself. Rakuten guests put dinner and breakfast at the bottom of their marks (4.0 and 4.07 out of 5), and while several of them call the meals tasty, the buffet dinner is where the crowd is least impressed, and breakfast comes out only a little better than dinner.
Bath
Special Suite #501 has an open-air onsen bath on its own deck, and friends of KI-NRT who stayed there loved it. Several other rooms also have an open-air bath facing Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi, and Rakuten guests give the bath 4.54 out of 5, several of them singling out those in-room baths with the mountain in front of them.
Service
Nobody in the thread has written about the service here. Rakuten guests consistently describe courteous, considerate staff, and the crowd puts service at 4.43 out of 5.
Room
Several rooms have their own open-air bath looking over the lake to Mt. Fuji, and KI-NRT's advice is to stretch for one of the Tokubetsu-shitsu (Special) rooms if you can, and still save a pretty penny over Fufu. He has not stayed himself and puts the property below Fufu and the top Hakone ryokans in overall quality. Rakuten guests put the rooms at 4.57 and single out the rooms with a lake-view open-air bath.
Place
Ubuya sits right on Lake Kawaguchi with an unobstructed, picture-perfect view of Mt. Fuji across the water, the best Fuji view of any ryokan in Kawaguchiko, and KI-NRT confirms that the picture on the website really is how the mountain looks on a clear day. Rakuten guests put the location at 4.79, their highest mark, with repeated praise for the lake-view welcome lounge.
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.)
Sources
FlyerTalk review #1 · Rakuten 4.36 / 5 · #34 · #149 · #167 · #438 · #504 (thread mentions)