Castle Hotel Kofu

I’ve stayed here many times, and it’s always clean—a quiet Hotel where you can truly relax.The open-air bath on the 13th floor is especially wonderful at night.It’s often almost like having it to yourself, which feels incredibly luxurious.There are Business Hotels with open-air baths in my hometown of Yokohama as well, but they’re often crowded even late at night, so it’s hard to unwind.I love spending time in a quiet place with few people around, and this Hotel is exactly my style in that respect.I’m also impressed that the mirrors in the large public bath are always spotless.I imagine it takes a lot of work to maintain, but everything is well cared for down to the smallest details, which makes me feel at ease.From the assistant manager onward, the entire Hotel feels well managed throughout—this is one of my favorite Hotels where I can stay with complete peace of mind.

I visited Yamanashi again in early April, but since I was traveling with friends, I stayed one night at Kounaya Hotel, which they wanted to try. I “cheated” this time, but it made me realize again how much I love the concept of this Hotel. It’s true that having Benjarong inside the Hotel and being able to have dinner without going out is appealing, but when it comes to the Onsen, this Hotel wins by far!!Especially at night, soaking in the open-air bath while looking at the stars and moon is such a wonderful experience—and it’s not crowded. The Room and the Onsen areas were spotless everywhere.The breakfast buffet was also very satisfying for a business hotel—both the variety and quality were high. The usual hamburger steak was gone, but they had fried shrimp instead, which felt like a lucky bonus. The bread was great in both texture and flavor. I’m not usually a fan of curry, but for some reason I can eat only this wine curry here… strange! One of the serving staff—an older, shorter lady—kindly explained everything in detail no matter what I asked.After Golden Week, once things calm down again, I’d love to stay here once more and enjoy some relaxing solo time.