Fujiya Hotel: East meets West in the midst of Hakone National Park

What do you picture when you think of a Japanese inn near a popular hot spring? Perhaps a ryokan with tatami mats on the floor and sliding door panels made of rice paper stretched taut across black wood frames? Sure, I would have loved to stay at one of those during our family trip back in April 2012. But with my rambunctious kids, I knew that we were one "Look at me. I'm a Samurai" game away from coughing up a ton of money to pay for ripped mats and torn door panels.

The Flower Palace at the Fujiya Hotel

Instead, we finished off our day visting Mount Fuji and Hakone National Park by spending the night at the Fujiya Hotel. Frommer's Travel Guide describes it as

"quite simply the grandest, most majestic old hotel in Hakone; indeed, it might be the loveliest historic hotel in Japan."

Back in 1878, the Fujiya Hotel opened as Japan's first Western-style hotel catering to the tourists visting Hakone National Park. If there was a rip in the space-time continuum with former hotel guests appearing at the same time, it would be an interesting group. (Plus horribly overcrowded.) You'd see silent movie icon Charlie Chaplin trying to entertain Helen Keller. Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria chats about military strategy with General Dwight Eisenhower. There would be a fascinating meeting of the minds between John Lennon, Yoko Ono, and Einstein trying to figure out how to give peace a chance. In the corner, Josef Albert Meisinger, a German Gestapo colonel known as "The Butcher of Warsaw," unsuccessfully hides from American forces, is arrested, and taken away to be convicted of war crimes.

Famous guests include Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan,
Charlie Chaplin, John Lennon, and Yoko Ono

I can see why so many are drawn to this hotel. Its mix of Victorian charm, Japanese architecture, and the gorgeous backdrop of Hakone beckons you. Their guest rooms are unusually spacious for Japan. Many of the buildings are registered as Tangible Cultural Properties of Japan which signifies their high historical value as a precious legacy of the Japanese people. They also have a Heritage of Industrial Modernization designation which recognizes significant contributions to the modernization of Japan.

Worried that we wouldn't be able to find the hotel from Miyanoshita Station on the Hokone Tozan Railway, I was immediately impressed by the rather huge wooden sign at the station's exit directing us where to go.

The main building was completed in 1891, and both the Comfy Lodge and Restful Lodge were completed in 1906. Their basic structure is Victorian, yet the adornments like the portico roof are Japanese.

A Victorian style cottage called The Comfy Lodge

After being severely damaged by an earthquake in 1923, the buildings were restored, and a large sun porch and Japanese pagoda-style Annex were added to the front of the main building. The picturesque Flower Palace (first picture in post) built in 1936 looks reminiscent of a Japanese temple and is considered to be the deluxe wing of the Fujiya Hotel.

Strolling across the front sun porch towards the Annex with a pagoda

The gardens around the back are open to the public and take about 20 minutes to explore. When we were there, winter was still lurking around. I bet the cherry blossoms were blooming soon after we left.

Water wheel 

Waterfall

A little iron arch perfect for weddings stands at the top of the garden with a gorgeous view across the hotel and valley. My kids' favorite activity besides pretending to trample foliage was feeding the carp.

Here fishy, fishy. I've got some nibbles for you. 

A charming post box is ready to accept your postcards informing your friends that you've just visited Mount Fuji and Hakone. Ah, what folks had to do before the instantaneous sharing capabilities of Facebook and Instagram.

Post Box

One of the big draws to the area is the Miyanoshita onsen (hot springs). There are numerous ways to enjoy it at the Fujiya Hotel. They actually pipe hot spring water into each room so that it washes over you in the shower or the tub. (Confession time: It seemed like regular hot water to me.) The indoor pool is fed by the springs. If you forgot your swimsuit, do not fret. You can borrow some free of charge from the hotel. A traditional Japanese bath is next to the indoor pool. Etiquette signs are posted for inexperienced onsen users so that you'll know what to do and what to avoid (like underwear).

Rules spelled out for the inexperienced

My family had two connecting rooms in the Forest Lodge. Built in 1960, I was discombobulated by the mod Sixties Western style mixed with Japanese elements. The room seemed like it had not been updated since it was originally completed, but there were anachronistic, modern touches such as a digital alarm clock in the built-in bedstand. I felt like I had walked into a aging American motel that was trying to add a touch of sophistication by putting up rice paper window panels. Or perhaps I was in a hotel with themed rooms, and I got the Sixties theme instead of the princess room. But this place wasn't kitschy; it was authentic. I kept expecting Don Draper to waltz in the door with a Japanese one-night-stand on his arm in a ratings grabbing "Mad Men goes on a business trip to exotic Japan" episode.

Not finding any English language kids channels, we amused ourselves by turning down the sound on the TV showing The Lion King in Japanese and coming up with alternative dialogue about Simba's search for cheese. No electronic key cards to scan for entry here. Instead, we were handed a metal key on a painted wooden keychain about the size of a paperback novel. There was no way that was fitting in anyone's pocket, so it's good that you could leave it at the front desk when you were wandering around. When the sun came out the next morning, I pushed aside the window panels to reveal a scene out of a children's story book. A little railcar trundled past on the hill above our room, making its way through the forest to the next station after Myanoshita where we had disembarked the night before.

Swinging Sixties style room in the Forest Lodge

My very favorite part of Fujiya is the Hotel Museum, although PICOT Bakery and Sweets Shop just outside the main entrance is a very close second. The museum is open and free for the public from 9AM to 9PM. Various minutiae from the hotel's 140 year history stood in glass cases and on tabletops ready to be examined. There was everything from guest books to the typewriters used in the offices as well as the framed photos of former guests.

Antique office equipment

The high point of my stroll around the museum was when I came across the pictorial membership roster of the International Moustache Club. It pretty much put every single Movember Facebook post I saw to shame. Apparently, H.S.K. Yamaguchi who was the Managing Director of the Fujiya Hotel from 1907-1944 as well as the founder's son-in-law must have been a member. Check out that 'stache!

So, I'm wondering... is this how you pictured a Japanese hotel?

Related Posts:
In Awe of Mount Fuji
A Lost Tooth, Black Eggs, and Japan's Hakone National Park

This post is part of the following Link Ups. Check them out for more around-the-world travel inspiration.

• Travel Photo Thursday - Budget Travelers Sandbox
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