The Classical Fujiya Hotel of Hakone

The main building

Fujiya Hotel in Hakone is an impressive classical structure where foreign royalty and popular celebrities like Charlie Chaplin, Helen Keller and John Lennon have stayed.

One of the delights of travelling is feeling something different from the everyday. The historical architecture of this hotel turns the clock back to a time when only the nobility could afford to travel for pleasure. This hotel exudes an exclusive, high-class atmosphere that will make you forget about the everyday.

The main building and its vestibule were built in 1891. The roof has tiles similar to the architectural style of temples and shrines. Impressively, not even one window glass broke during the Great Kanto Earthquake in 1923.

Many people think that the beautiful Mt Fuji can be seen from the Fujiya Hotel, but unfortunately it cannot. Actually, the hotel’s name comes from an old inn called “Fujiya” which was purchased and turned into the present facility. The original building was destroyed in a fire, after which the present main building was constructed. It is now the oldest building of this hotel complex.

Sophisticated lobby

After entering through the retro-style revolving door, you’ll instantly notice the fragrance of the interior. Fujiya Hotel uses a special aromatic blend of cypress tree and citrus that welcomes guests and takes them by surprise. Repeat visitors grow to long for this familiar scent as it brings back pleasant memories of previous stays.

You’ll be also be impressed by the big staircase with its elegant curving handrails, the wood carvings of Minamoto-no-Yoritomo’s Mt. Fuji hunting scenes, and the overall high-class interior design. You could spend a lot of time in the lobby simply enjoying the beauty of everything that surrounds you.

Every day at 4 pm there is a guided tour of the hotel. The guide will tell you interesting stories from the hotel’s past and show you some unique architectural features. This particular tour is only for guests of the hotel, but other travel agencies organize similar tours for day trip visitors.

Windows become beautiful pictures

Discovering the beautiful places inside this classical cultural treasure is one of the ways to enjoy Fujiya Hotel. As a day trip visitor you’ll have access to the lobby, the restaurant and the garden, but other parts of the hotel are only for staying guests, so I recommend staying overnight.

In the corridor that leads to the Flower Palace you can find pictures drawn by Mitsui Banri and monochrome photos of famous people who stayed at Fujiya Hotel. Some of the most beautiful spots are the latticed windows of the Western Hall and the nature of Hakone viewed from the Flower Palace. Start exploring and you’ll make some interesting discoveries. For example, you’ll notice how the doorknobs of the guest rooms in the Western Hall are located rather low, while the doorknobs in the Flower Palace are high. Do you know why? It’s because servants would sit down before entering and opening the door in the Western Hall, while the Flower Palace would cater to the needs of the generally taller foreign guests.

Flower patterns

The Flower Palace was built in 1936. Every room has the name of a flower and is decorated with patterns of that flower inside. There is a flower picture drawn by Mitsui Banri on every door, making it interesting to walk around the corridor and see all of them.

Traditional hospitality

The main dining room, “The Fujiya”, was built in 1930. It’s a great place to experience the traditional hospitality and services of this hotel. The ceiling is 5.5 meters high and makes for a very spacious room. The coffered ceiling has wooden carvings of 636 plants and 573 birds, so you’ll never be bored while waiting for your next dish.

The room’s pillars have wood carvings with somewhat scary faces looking at you—quite a strange contrast to the classical space. This is actually the face of Yamaguchi Shozo, the third owner of Fujiya Hotel who built the dining room and the Flower Palace. But why is his glare so intimidating? In fact, it’s targeted not towards the hotel guests, but towards the staff. No matter how great the facility and the food are, the service should always strive to become better. This is what the scary face on the pillars stands for.

And of course, the hotel staff don’t sit cross-legged but provide superb service for the guests. Even today you can experience the old hospitality of this classical facility.