Published date: September 2, 2024
Unlimited Ice Cream Is Just Amazing! Welcome Cake Included
Room Type Stayed
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Experience of the stay
We stayed at the popular Chateraise Hotel Isawa using HafH, where they offered a welcome cake, unlimited ice cream, and a cake & sweets buffet for lunch!
In conclusion, it is recommended for dessert lovers, as it is close to Tokyo, easy to access by train, and boasts high-quality hot springs.
We took the Limited Express Kaiji from JR Shinjuku Station to Isawa Onsen Station. It takes about 90 minutes from Shinjuku to Isawa Onsen, and the round-trip fare including express fees is 3,890 yen, making it a quick and reasonably priced trip! Chateraise Hotel Isawa is a 6-minute walk from Isawa Onsen Station. They also offer pick-up service from the station if you call ahead.
Chateraise Hotel's famous welcome cake. You can choose one from today's 7 types of cakes and enjoy it for free. The serving time is short, from 15:00 to 17:00, so be careful; we were cutting it close around 16:30.
In the lobby, there is Chateraise ice cream available for hotel guests and day visitors.
Ice cream is served from 8:30 to 22:00, and there are no particular restrictions on how many you can take, making it virtually all-you-can-eat ice cream. There are 12 types of ice cream, including popular items like Choco Bucky and the slightly premium Shine Muscat bar!
The large public bath has an indoor bath, a vibratory bath, and an outdoor bath. The hot spring quality is a simple hot spring with a low concentration, weak alkaline high temperature, and is less irritating. With a pH of 9.1, it is expected to have skin-beautifying effects and is effective for neuralgia, muscle pain, cold sensitivity, and fatigue recovery.
Take a stroll in the courtyard to cool off.
There are koi fish, ducks, and large herons, making it enjoyable.
This courtyard seems to symbolize Chateraise Hotel Isawa, and because it was lovely, I felt satisfied with my stay.
The room was spacious, with views of the courtyard and the Southern Alps mountains, providing relaxation. It is recommended for those looking to refresh themselves in a one-night, two-day trip from Tokyo.
Experiences during the trip
At the tourist information center on the first floor of Isawa Onsen Station, there is a wine server in the station! This is a must-stop spot. You can enjoy 16 kinds of seasonal local wines for about 100 to 400 yen per cup.
The Aeon Isawa store is conveniently located in front of Isawa Onsen Station, making it easy to shop for groceries during an overnight stay.
By the way, there is a Seven-Eleven right across the street.
The next day, we left the hotel shortly before the 10:00 check-out and took the JR train to Kofu Station.
The trip from Isawa Onsen Station to Kofu Station takes about 8 minutes on the JR Chuo Main Line for 200 yen, making it easy to access even without a car.
The statue of Takeda Shingen is right outside the south exit of Kofu Station!
From Kofu Station, we took a bus to Shosenkyo.
Shosenkyo is a gorge located in the northern part of Kofu City in Yamanashi Prefecture, designated as a national special scenic spot, and is known as a tourist destination for its "best gorge beauty in Japan." During the season, there are direct buses from the entrance of Shosenkyo to further up, but in mid-December, it is off-season, so we had to transfer to a shared bus to go upstream. The main highlights of Shosenkyo, such as Sengataki Falls, Kakuenbo, and Ishimon, are concentrated near the bus stop "Takiue."
We returned to Kofu Station around 13:30 by bus and decided to have lunch. We went to Spaghetti Moriya, which was highly rated on Google Maps (just a 1-minute walk from the south exit of Kofu Station). It was incredibly delicious!