We head to the outlets do zero shopping, but have zero regrets.

What’s the best one-way distance for an onsen (hot spring) getaway day trip? You don’t want to go somewhere too close, because part of the relaxing atmosphere of a hot spring soak comes from putting some physical distance between yourself and the stress sources of your everyday life. Go too far from home, though, and you’re going to wear yourself out just getting to the onsen and back.

After giving it some thought, our Japanese-language reporter Seiji Nakazawa thinks that about two hours away from home is the sweet spot, and so he’s making it his personal quest to find great day-use hot springs within that travel time from downtown Tokyo. And today, he’s even found one that’s just a single bus stop from Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood, and just two stops from Shinjuku.

Of course, we’re not talking about a regular old city bus here. Instead, Seiji hopped on a highway bus from Shibuya’s Mark City building at 10:30 in the morning, then settled in for a ride all the way out to Gotemba, in Shizuoka Prefecture, arriving at 12:42 in the afternoon.

Gotemba has two claims to fame. For starters, it has a gigantic outlet shopping mall, split up into multiple terraced hillside sections. Many of the stores and shoppers here hail from overseas, and if you’re into high-fashion bargain-hunting, you could easily spend a whole day here. In fact, it’s because of the Gotemba Premium Outlet that there are direct buses to here from downtown Tokyo.

The other thing Gotemba is famous for is being one of the last sizeable cities before you get to the foot of Mt. Fuji, which means that the town has some impressive views of Japan’s tallest mountain. As a matter of fact, there are particularly nice vantage points from the luxurious Hotel Clad, which is adjacent to the outlets.

But Seiji wasn’t here for an overnight stay, so he wouldn’t be able to take in the view from the guestrooms. That didn’t mean he’d have to be content with looking through the hotel’s lobby windows, though, because the property’s attached hot spring bath facility, Konohana no Yu, is available for day-use, and the hotel’s restaurant buffet is open to non-overnight guests too.

▼ Konohana no Yu entrance. Note the “no bathing suits” sign; this is an authentic onsen, and you’ll need to be naked when in the baths. Adult admission is 1,700 yen (US$12) on weekdays and 2,100 yen on weekends and holidays, and private baths are available for an additional charge.

▼ Women’s and men’s bath entrances

After undressing in the locker room and showering, it was time for Seiji to soak, and while the indoor bath area was spacious and appealing…

…the highlight of an onsen trip is always the rotenbeuro, or open-air bath area.

Because of its hillside location, the view from the bath area is wide-open and expansive, while still providing plenty of privacy for bathers from anyone outside the baths. Even though we’re in Japan’s rainy season, when the weather tends to be especially muggy, the rotenburo is situated such that there was a nice breeze, allowing Seiji to take an extended soak without getting uncomfortably sweaty from the atmospheric conditions.

Really, the only bummer was that Mt. Fuji isn’t just Japan’s tallest mountain, but its most notoriously shy one as well. It’s often hidden in clouds and fog, and that was true on this day too. The view was still beautiful, but if you’ve got your heart set on seeing Fuji from the bath, you’ll probably want to check the weather report before you decide to get on the bus.

But if the weather cooperates and you are able to see Mt. Fuji? The view from the baths is breathtaking, as you can see in the photos of clear-sky days that Konohana no Yu provided us with.

Even without being able to see the mountain, though, the combination of soothing hot spring water, which Konohana no Yu pumps in directly from the source, and alpine air quickly melted/blew away Seiji’s stress, and in place of it, he now felt hunger, so it was time to head to the buffet, which is served in the Hanagoromi restaurant on the hotel’s first floor.

The lunch buffet is priced at 3,300 yen (US$23) for non-hotel guests and is served from noon to 3 p.m. Seiji recommends going towards the back half of that window, since the place tends to get crowded during the lunch rush, and when he sauntered in there was still plenty of delicious, freshly prepared food on offer.

▼ The croquettes, using potatoes grown in the town of Hakone in the neighboring prefecture of Kanagawa, were a standout, as were the just-baked croissants.

▼ The lobby area has panoramic windows so you can take in the scenery while you dig in.

After eating his fill, Seiji headed back into the baths, and as proof that this place is still worth visiting on a cloud day, when he was finally finished with all of his indoor bath, outdoor bah, and sauna sessions, he checked the time…

…and saw that he’d been here for a total of five hours!

Konohana no Yu’s baths are open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., but if you’re looking to follow in Seiji’s footsteps and do this as a day trip, the more important consideration is the bus schedule. One-way prices are almost the same between the outlets and Shibuya or Shinjuku (1,800 yen versus 2,000 yen, and by either route it’s roughly a two-hour ride, with the first buses of the day leaving Shibuya at 8:30 and Shinjuku at 8:05. Buses between the outlets and Shinjuku are far more frequent, though, and while the last bus back to Shibuya leaves the outlets at 4:10 in the afternoon, the last one for Shinjuku doesn’t depart until 7:20 on weekdays or 8 on weekends. With Shinjuku and Shibuya not being all that far from each other, depending on where you’re starting from the best plan might be to do what Seiji did and take a morning bus from Shibuya to the outlets, but return to Tokyo on a bus bound for Shinjuku Station or the Busta Shinjuku highway bus terminal.

Another option is to make your way by train to JR Gotemba Station, which is still a 15-minute drive from the outlets, but there’s a free shuttle bus that’ll save you a taxi ride. Full details for buses can be found here on the Gotemba Premium Outlets website, and information for the Gotemba Station shuttle bus is available here on the Konohana no Yu website (both in English).

Location information
Konohana no Yu / 木の花の湯
Address: Shizuoka-ken, Gotemba-shi, Fukasawa 2839-1
静岡県御殿場市深沢2839-1
Open 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
Website

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