Fujikawaguchiko Promoting Itself as Hot Spring, Mt. Fuji Resort; ‘Now Is Our Chance,’ Says Hotel Operator

By Makoto Kimura / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

12:50 JST, December 22, 2024

FUJIKAWAGUCHIKO, Yamanashi —The town of Fujikawaguchiko in Yamanashi Prefecture has been promoting itself both domestically and internationally as a “town of hot springs.”

Many of the town’s accommodations still do not have a pipeline to bring in hot spring water, but a new source was discovered there earlier this year for the first time in 20 years. The town plans to supply the accommodations with hot water from the spring upon request as early as fiscal 2026.

The town aims to further promote its hot springs along with Mt. Fuji to enhance its appeal as an international tourist destination.

Long known as a sightseeing area, the town was never much thought of as a hot spring resort. However, since the 1990s, both the public and private sectors have been focusing on turning the town into an onsen resort like Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture.

Fujikawaguchiko already has three hot spring sources, which provide hot spring water to 34 facilities along the shores of Lake Kawaguchi through an underground pipe system. But most of the town’s about 800 accommodations are not hot spring inns, with only a limited number of them having access.

Against this backdrop, the town began drilling hot spring wells in the Kodachi district on the southern shore of the lake in November last year.

In July, the town found a hot spring source 1,500 meters deep with waters measuring 38 C. The town plans to install pumps and other equipment to transport water from the spring by tanker truck to accommodation facilities, including those that already have pipelines to hot spring water.

“We want to provide a stable supply of hot spring water,” said an official from the town’s water supply division.

Visitor numbers to Fujikawaguchiko have recovered to the same level as before the COVID-19 pandemic, as many glamping facilities and campgrounds have opened.

Last year, the town had 3.52 million visitors, up 40% from the previous year.

The town’s hot springs are being promoted by the public and private sectors.

In 2020, Kawaguchiko Station on the Fujikyu Line, run by Fuji Sanroku Railway Co., was given the additional name of Fuji Kawaguchiko Onsenkyo. Onsenkyo means hot spring resort.

“Hot springs and Mt. Fuji are the strongest combination [for tourism],” an official of the town’s tourist federation said.

“Having attracted the attention of foreign tourists, now is our chance to promote the town,” said Shigeru Yamashita, 81, who runs a hot spring hotel in Fujikawaguchiko. “It is important to promote our hot springs and the view of Mt. Fuji to increase the number of regular customers.”