Yamanashi · Yamanakako Onsen
Yamanakako Onsen Benifuji no Yu
山中湖温泉 紅富士の湯
Three minutes by car from Yamanakako IC, a day spa with Mt. Fuji rising straight ahead of the open-air bath. Highly alkaline (pH 10.3) yet gentle on the skin. Two open-air baths—stone and cypress—plus a lie-down bath, jets and sauna for ¥900. On winter weekends (Dec–Feb) it opens at dawn so you can watch the peak blush red at sunrise, the 'benifuji' of its name. 30 minutes from Fujisan Station on the Fujikko-gō loop bus.
- Price (adult)
- ¥900
- Hours
- CLOSED LONG-TERM 28 Sep 2026 – Mar 2027 (planned) / normally weekdays 11:00–19:00, weekends & holidays 11:00–20:00 (last entry 45 min before closing)
- Closed
- Closed long-term (28 Sep 2026 – Mar 2027, planned). Normally Mon & Tue (open on holidays)
- Access
- 30 min by Fujikko-gō loop bus from Fujisan Station (Fujikyu line) to Benifuji-no-Yu; 3 min by car from Yamanakako IC
- Water type
- Alkaline simple
- Tattoos
- Ask ahead
- Admission
- NOTE: closed long-term from 28 September 2026 until March 2027 (planned) — check the official site for reopening and prices. Normal rates: adults ¥900, junior/senior high ¥700, elementary ¥350, preschool free (bath tax included). 11-ticket book ¥9,000. Soap and shampoo included; towels sold ¥220, bath-towel rental ¥180, dryer ¥100 per 5 min, lockers ¥100 refundable. Discount coupons via official LINE and newsletter. Montbell Friend Shop
- Baths
- A public day-spa (opened 1999) on a hill south of the lake, 3 minutes from Yamanakako IC. The indoor hall is glazed floor to ceiling on the Fuji side, with full-body, jet, bubble and lying baths, a tepid source pool and a dousing bath — every tub has a view of Mt Fuji. Two outdoor baths: a mild rock pool around 38°C and a 42°C stone bath; sauna and mist sauna. Second-floor dining hall (hoto noodles, Yoshida udon, Shingen soft-serve), large rest hall, paid nap room, relaxation, shop. Named for the 'beni-fuji', the mountain glowing red on winter mornings
- Spring water
- Alkaline simple spring (hypotonic, alkaline, low-temperature), about 26°C at source, highly alkaline at around pH 10.3. Colourless and odourless with a gentle slickness, mild enough for families. Alternating the tepid source pool (raw water below body temperature) with the heated tubs gives a hot-cold contrast bath. Heated, recirculated and disinfected. Indicated for neuralgia, muscle pain, poor circulation and fatigue. Yamanakako Onsen was developed by the village in the late 1990s; at about 1,000 m, the highest of the Fuji Five Lakes, it stays cool even in summer
- Access & parking
- Free parking for about 220 cars. By car about 1 km / 3 min from Yamanakako IC on the Higashi-Fuji-Goko Road, 30 min from Gotemba IC on the Tomei, about 1 h 40 min from Shinjuku. By bus take the Fujikyu express from Shinjuku (Busta) to 'Yamanakako Asahigaoka' (about 2 h 15 min), then a Fujikyu Yamanashi bus to 'Fujisan Yamanakako (Hotel Mt Fuji entrance)' and walk 5 min, or the 'Benifuji-no-yu' stop on days the 'Fujikko-go' loop bus runs. 30 min by bus from Fujisan Station
- Phone
- 0555-20-2700
- Official site
- benifuji.co.jp ↗
- Open in Google Maps
- Google Maps ↗
Essentials
Find a stay on Trip.com
Search and book accommodation across Japan on Trip.com. Day-use bathing needs no booking.
Opens partner booking site (affiliate)
Why go
- Mt. Fuji straight ahead
- Dawn 'red Fuji' on winter weekends
- ¥900 with sauna
Mt Fuji from every tub — closed long-term until March 2027
IMPORTANT: according to its official announcement, Yamanakako Onsen Benifuji-no-Yu entered a long-term closure from 28 September 2026 until March 2027 (planned). If you plan a visit, be sure to check the official site for the reopening date and any revised prices and hours. Benifuji-no-Yu is a public day-spa opened in 1999 on a hill south of Lake Yamanaka — the largest and highest (about 1,000 m) of the Fuji Five Lakes — in Yamanakako village, Yamanashi, named for the 'beni-fuji', the snow-capped mountain glowing red at sunrise on winter mornings. Its great boast is that every bath, from the indoor hall glazed floor to ceiling on the Fuji side to the two rotenburo, faces Mt Fuji head-on with nothing in the way at this altitude, loveliest on crisp winter mornings and around sunset. The highly alkaline simple spring, around pH 10, is gentle and popular with families, and with a second-floor dining hall serving hoto and Yoshida udon plus a large rest hall it has long been the classic finale to a Fuji and Yamanakako outing. This basic information should hold after reopening, but details may change with any renovation.
The baths and how to enjoy them, as before the closure (for reference)
As it was before the closure: buy a machine ticket at the entrance and you find a spacious lobby and shop, with a dining hall and rest hall upstairs; the gender-separated baths all face Mt Fuji. The indoor hall's entire Fuji-side wall is glass, so the main pool, jet bath, bubble bath and lying bath all enjoy the view, and the 'source tepid pool' filled with raw 26°C water — cooler than body temperature — doubled as a post-sauna plunge. The water is a colourless, odourless alkaline simple spring, gently slick and non-irritating, comfortable for children and the elderly. Of the two rotenburo, the mild rock pool at around 38°C invited half-hour or hour-long soaks gazing at Fuji, while the 42°C stone bath was for warming up; there were also a sauna, mist sauna and outdoor rest space. Fuji is sharpest in the morning without backlight and tends to cloud over in the afternoon; clear winter mornings and 'Diamond Fuji' evenings (October–November and February, seen from the lake's east shore) are especially fine. The official site's 'Zekkei Fuji' page posts same-day view photos, handy for judging the weather. The layout may change after reopening, so treat this as background.
The closure, alternatives and a Yamanakako itinerary
Per the official notice of 31 August 2026, the closure runs from Monday 28 September 2026 until March 2027 (planned); no reason or exact reopening date has been published. Before the closure, normal hours were 11:00–19:00 on weekdays and 11:00–20:00 on weekends and holidays (last entry 45 minutes before closing), closed Mondays and Tuesdays (open on holidays), with adults ¥900, junior/senior high ¥700 and elementary ¥350, bath tax included. Prices and hours may change on reopening, so check the official site and LINE. Alternatives meanwhile include 'Ishiwari-no-yu' in the same village (municipal sister facility at Hirano on the lake's east side, 10 min by car), 'Fujiyama Onsen' beside Fuji-Q Highland on the Kawaguchiko side (30 min) and the day-spas of Gotemba. Build a Yamanakako day around the lakeside cycle loop (about 14 km), the swan sightseeing boats, the Hananomiyako flower park (5 min by car), pancake cafés and Yoshida udon, 'Diamond Fuji' from the Asahigaoka shore on winter mornings and Oshino Hakkai (15 min), reached by express bus from Shinjuku in 2 h 15 min. Once Benifuji-no-Yu reopens, restore it as the finale — a soak facing Mt Fuji.
Before you go
- No official tattoo policy is published — ask at reception.
- Last entry is 30–60 minutes before closing.
Features
Sauna & wellness
Mood & scenery
Who with
Price
Amenities
✔ Verified operating: 2026-09 Operating status and rates cross-checked against the official site and onsen guides (full source notes in Japanese on the JA page)
Prices and hours change. Check official sources before visiting.
More in this area
Fujiyama Onsen
Next to Fuji-Q Highland, with one of Japan's largest all-timber bath halls. Price includes loungewear and towels, so come empty-handed. Free shuttle from Fujisan Station. Prices revised April 2026.
Hottarakashi Onsen — Acchi-no-yu
On a mountainside above the Kofu basin, a spectacular open-air bath with Mt. Fuji and the city lights in view. It opens 'one hour before sunrise', so people arrive in the dark to watch dawn break over Fuji from the water. Of the two bathhouses, 'Acchi-no-yu' is the larger with the better view. ¥900. The deep-fried hot-spring egg from the food stall is a must. Ten minutes by taxi from Yamanashi-shi Station; a feasible day trip from Tokyo.
Shimobe Onsen Shimobe Hotel
The leading large ryokan of Shimobe Onsen in Yamanashi, the 'hidden bath' of warlord Takeda Shingen. Its hallmark is three springs of differing character (including the tepid original Shimobe water) served in eleven tubs, seven of them open-air — a mini bath-hopping circuit with streamside rotenburo and Shingen lore. Day use 11:00–15:00, ¥1,200; resting in the tatami hall is free, and lunch-and-rest plans start at ¥5,000. Irregular closures, so confirm ahead. Just 3 minutes on foot from Shimobe-Onsen Station on the JR Minobu Line — easy by rail, and a natural pairing with Kuonji temple on Mt Minobu, the Fuji River or a Lake Motosu / Fuji Five Lakes drive.
