Published date: October 2, 2024
A Trip to Interact with Baby Ducks and Natural Stones!
Room Type Stayed
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Experience of the stay
I stayed for one night and two days during spring break with my elementary school child.
I made a reservation hoping to experience the fun services at Chateraise Hotel, such as all-you-can-eat ice cream!
I took the express Kaiji train and arrived at Isawa Onsen Station around 2 PM.
Instead of heading straight to the hotel, we stopped by Sai-Ishi no Kura, which is close to the hotel, and checked in at the hotel after 4:30 PM. We made it in time for the welcome cake service (3 PM to 5 PM) at Chateraise Hotel and got to enjoy some cake.
However, as it was late, there were only a couple of types of cakes left, so if you have children or want to choose specific cakes, I recommend checking in early.
When we checked out the next day, there were about seven types of cakes prepared.
The room was not new or modern compared to newer hotels, but it was spacious, clean, and comfortable.
The hot spring was nice and very relaxing, and after taking a bath, I was delighted to try various Chateraise ice creams.
The next morning, I opted for the breakfast buffet, and there were about four kinds of Chateraise yogurt available for dessert, making for a delicious and filling meal.
Afterwards, my child wanted to feed the koi and baby ducks, so we went to the courtyard. After buying some feed at the front desk, while enjoying feeding the koi, we noticed that there were more than ten baby ducks! Watching them follow their mother, either waddling or swimming, was incredibly cute, and my child stayed in the garden for nearly two hours.
The baby ducks seem to be a specialty of this hotel, as the local TV station comes to cover their arrival every year. They seem to be born around April to the end of May.
This time, we were really lucky to get to see the babies!
Experiences during the trip
About a 20-minute walk from Isawa Onsen Station (10 minutes from the hotel) is a shop and museum called Sai-Ishi no Kura, which specializes in natural stones.
Yamanashi Prefecture has developed stone processing techniques, and stones such as gemstones are gathered from around the world, so there are many shops selling natural stones.
The gemstone museum here is free to visit, but the popular attraction is the paid gem hunting experience.
There are various courses available to choose from based on preference and budget.
My elementary school-aged child, who loves stones, spent his allowance hunting for gemstones both before checking in and after checking out.
Elementary school students can participate in the 1100 yen "Wanakko Course" where they search for large natural stones in a sandbox or the 2200 yen adult gemstone hunting experience where they look for small gemstones in a ball, so we hunted for gems about three times and returned with many stones.
I actually wanted to do some sightseeing around Shosenkyo, but the weather wasn't very good, and my child was quite satisfied having interacted plenty with the baby ducks and natural stones, so this turned out to be a fun trip after all!