YAMANASHI: Hottarakashi Onsen with direct views of Mt. Fuji and tasty grape icy soft cream! (Lumix TZ60)

Had a chance to tag along with a friend to visit Hottarashiki Onsen in Yamanashi Prefecture... unobstructed views of Mount Fuji from both the food benches and outdoor onsen. 

Do you know what Hottarakashi ほったらかし means in English? Its something like left alone or uncared for... Like when someone doesn`t care about their yard and lets it do whatever.  The area around the outdoor onsen hot springs sure did need a weed wacker. 

Didnt notice any English buttons so brush up on your Hiragana!

Of course! Yamanashi is wildly popular for their grapes and had to get the Milk and Grape mix soft cream! Japanese Lesson:  牛乳 (Gyuunew - Milk) と(To - and) ぶどう (Budou - Grape) のミックス (Mikkusuu Mix). 牛乳とぶどうのミックス！

This was more of an icy ice cream rather than creamy like those sundays at McDonalds.  Was very refreshing... and the waffle cone so tasty!  400 yen a must!

Snow capped Fuji-san!  

If you are here for the onsen its 800 yen for adults... don`t forget to bring both a bath and body towel! The very thin towels were rather expensive.... 1000 yen and 200 yen.

Just a short Taxi ride (about 2300 yen, 2.25 miles) from Yamanashi train station.  Oh soooo very unusual but this place allows Tattoos... Maybe the yakuza don`t frequent the place or there is a large inbound tourist fan base.

There is also a Hottarakashi Camping area nearby too! Normally camping sites don`t have shower facilities so just hop on over to the onsen.

Restaurant: Hottarakashi Onsen

Tabelog Foodie: https://tabelog.com/yamanashi/A1901/A190101/19006215/

Address J: 山梨県山梨市矢坪1669-18

Address E:  Yamanashi ken, Yamanashi shi, Yatsubo 1669-18

MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/TWnL9MhtD6v3WDF66

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CHICHIBU: Ryouzanpaku Onsen Hot Springs Dinner & Breakfast during Coronavirus :( but great service! (Sony RX100).

For the past few days Tokyo has reported less than 20 cases of new coronavirus infections in the city and although I was extremely nervous about heading to onsen... against my better judgement I joined my friends invite to visit Ryouzanpaku Onsen in Chichibu. 

Natural hot spring... think they just warm the water flowing from the stream to 40 degrees and feed it into the indoor and out door baths 

The room was old, dusty and lacked any bathroom facilities.  Learned that Minshuku is a budget onsen that has communal restrooms, washing areas and baths that cost around 10,000 yen per night.  If you want a Japanese hotel style room with all the amenities called a Ryokan then its about 20,000 yen plus per night per person .

Think we got the 1 night dinner and breakfast plan for 8,000 yen per person.

http://ryouzanpaku.net/oryouri.html#01

One drink included in the dinner so best to stop by a convenient store to stock up.  There was a little fridge in the room.

Sooo many tiny options.   

My favorite is always the maguro tuna. 

Compressed sushi. 

Super tender seasoned pork with a side of mushrooms. 

Loved this fish... seasoned in miso and sooo flavorful. 

Tempura

You close the meal with Soba noodles... they boil to order. 

Rice if you need a bowl.  The dinner was just too filling.  Very nicely balanced. 

Photo of the rather small dusty room. 

Sat on the window sil and listened to the birds and stream flowing down below.

Breakfast is served in a large room.  

Only passed on the fermented natto beans. 

Hot plate to crack open an egg and 2 pieces of ham. 

This is definitely not a romantic outing kinda place but looking at the guests during breakfast I saw mostly older couples and small groups that seemed to be on a company trip.  During my Tuesday - Wednesday stay there were a total of 20 guests.  Also not a place you can walk around and explore... pretty much stuck at the hotel. 

Hotel: Chichibu Ogano Onsen Ryokan Ryozanpaku

Homepage: http://ryouzanpaku.net/

Jalan Reviews: Click Here

Address J: 埼玉県秩父郡小鹿野町般若260

Address E: Saitama, Chichibu-gun, Ogano-machi, Hannya 260

MAP: https://goo.gl/maps/mum9jaHFvs6cBGXA8

秩父小鹿野温泉 梁山泊, 秩父小鹿野温泉旅館 梁山泊, Japan, Japanese, onsen, hot springs, foodie, yelp, tokyobelly, sony rx100, hotel, inexpensive, ryouzanpaku,