Kouchisou

It's been a while since I stayed here. The hot spring is good, so I've been here a few times for day trips. It's located in the center of Koshu City, and the day-trip baths are very popular. This hot spring has been loved by locals and tourists for 80 years. The accommodation building is an old building with a Showa-era feel. This time, the room was a room with a sofa, a Japanese-style room, and a wide veranda. The unit bath and wash area were spacious. There were two keys to the room, which was convenient. However, there was no safe in the room. This was my first time using the private open-air bath. You can use it if it's available (only for guests staying at the hotel). There was a sign saying that you should limit your use to one hour per group. There is only one washing area, but the open-air bath can accommodate several people. The water is quite hot. There were lotions, hair dryers, cotton swabs, etc. in the changing room of the open-air bath. The next morning, I went to the large public bath. One thing to be careful of here is that the large public bath is open from 7am. Day trippers will be coming in the morning, so I set my alarm before 6 to go at 6, but when I got there, the large public bath was "cleaning" (day trippers start at 9). The large public bath has heated hot spring water and cold spring water at 28 degrees. The hot spring water in both the large public bath and the open-air bath is like a thick lotion, and the spring water is slippery. The water is moisturizing and blends well with the skin. The water pressure in the shower is weak, so it took a long time to wash my hair. However, it feels like natural lotion is coming out of the faucet (hot spring water from the faucet). I have been to various hot springs in Yamanashi Prefecture, but I think the water here is the most slippery and smooth. Be careful not to fall. My partner went to the bath twice in the morning. He only goes once in the morning except for the 11 o'clock check-out, but he said he went again because the water is good, even though the check-out is at 10. We had dinner in a Japanese-style room. The meal includes everything from rice to dessert and fruit, and if you want alcohol or rice refills, you can ring the buzzer at your seat. The meal is typical of a ryokan, with dishes like chawanmushi and tempura, but there was a wide selection and the taste was good, so it was nice. It's been a while since I've had horse sashimi. This time, I was thinking of ordering a bottle of wine, but a bottle of local Koshu wine costs 3,500 yen, so I didn't. I ordered a few bottles of local sake (Sasaichi), which was 850 yen for 300cc. The food went better with sake than wine. We had breakfast at the same venue. There was a wide variety of dishes, and it was delicious. My partner said, "The accommodation is reasonable, the hot springs are good, and the food is delicious, so it's great!" I agree.

This is my third stay in two years. The hot spring at this inn is soft and silky smooth compared to the hot springs around Izu. It's so comfortable that I think there is probably no other hot spring that can surpass this one. It's a hidden gem. The open-air bath is available 24 hours a day, and the large bath is spacious and recommended. However, it's a shame that the bathing time ends at 9:30 p.m. Regardless of dinner, there is no place to get breakfast nearby, so I always ask for breakfast included. The rooms are spacious Japanese-style rooms, and the building is quiet. All rooms have shared toilets. It's best to make a reservation directly by phone. It's quite cheap compared to travel internet sites. Don't make the mistake of booking on "Jaaaaan" or similar. I'll be using your services again next year. As an aside, if you want to have tea or a meal in front of Shioyama Station, there is a cafe called "Cafe Italia 2nd" in an alley about a 3-minute walk away, so I recommend it. It opened just last November and is very nice. It's a little difficult to find, so if you ask at the tourist information center in front of the station they will be happy to help you.

I used it as a relaxing hot spring♨️ after climbing Mt. Daibosatsu, famous for its autumn leaves🍁 and the calligraphy "Daibosatsu Toge" by Nakazato Kaizan, one of the 100 famous mountains. On the shoe shelf at the entrance are many old colored paper cards of celebrities such as Nakataka Tatsuro (I miss him). I stayed overnight (only one waitress, maybe they were short on staff?) and there was no two meals included, so I used the sushi restaurant "Uokatsu (sashimi set meal) 2,500 yen" near the nearest station, Shioyama Station, which was delicious. It is a 5-minute drive. It is located in a corner of Shioyama Onsen♨️ and is connected to a public bath (7:30-20:00). The inn has an open-air bath that can be used 24 hours a day and can accommodate 10 people (however, it is cold in winter because it is an open-air bath), and there are shampoos and 4 seats for washing. The mineral spring is boiled, but it is possible to lock it and rent it out for less than an hour. The next station to Katsunuma Budokyo is about 20 minutes by car, and although it is conveniently located, it felt like a hot spring♨️.

This is my second time back after last fall. Shioyama Onsenkyo is a small hot spring with several hot spring inns scattered around it, about a 10-minute walk from Shioyama Station on the JR Chuo Main Line. Among them, "Kochiso" is a recommended inn. The hot spring is large and is open from 7:00 am to 9:30 pm, and day trip bathing is also possible. The private open-air bath is available 24 hours a day. The overwhelming majority of the guests are mountain climbers heading to Daibosatsu Pass and other places, so there may not be many guests who just want to relax in the hot spring. This time, I stayed with two meals included, but the dinner was a little bland and unsatisfying. The breakfast was quite satisfying. The guests who come for mountain climbing go to bed early, so the building is very quiet. I was surprised to find that most of the guests had already checked out when I woke up at 8:00 am. It is more like a mountain hut with a hot spring than a hot spring inn. The young owner and other staff are kind, and it is an inn that is not expensive and easy to stay at, so anyone can stay with peace of mind. The guest room is an 8 tatami Japanese-style room with a shared toilet. There is a sink in the room. If you wish, you can smoke in the room. There are no convenience stores around the inn. We recommend that you buy what you need in advance. We plan to stay here again next year.