Hotel Musashiya

This wonderful hotel is located on Lake Ashe with beautiful views of the lake from our room, the breakfast room, and the top floor where the onsen was located. Walking a hundred yards to the left in front of the hotel along the promenade brings a glimpse of Mt. Fuji. We had a Japanese room which was very large with a large, low table and a breakfast table with two low chairs in front of the window – a nice place to sit and have a cup of tea. The hotel offered Japanese or Western breakfasts at two different seating times. My brother and wife loved the Japanese breakfast which consisted of 8 or 9 different little plates of food, including fish, while the Western breakfast was a small egg omelet, fruit cup, sausages, and toast with jam. After the first breakfast I requested no meat and they substituted a thick soup and other items. The top floor features a traditional Japanese onsen scene. There were instructions on how to use the bath in several locations so that we Westerners didn’t embarrass ourselves – and please do follow the directions! There was tons of hot water at the sit-down spigots to pre-wash ourselves and the hot bath itself was wonderfully hot and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Don’t be shy and give it a try! This is not a shiny new, soulless, hotel, but rather a bit lived in with an enthusiastic staff that keep the place very clean and stocked with towels and robes and super friendly. Another cool feature is that they write in chalk on a flagstone mounted on the front exterior listing the guests who will be checking in that day! A couple times we went over to the three-story bakery a couple blocks down the road and bought delicious pastries or sat on the second floor, enjoying the view and having a coffee.