Experience is a trade-off. Sometimes you don’t get what you expected. In return, you may encounter something wonderful in an unexpected place. I, who couldn’t see Mount Fuji at all from Hotel Mount Fuji, was right in the middle of such a moment. But if you keep moving with hope, you occasionally get an unexpected reward. That day I would experience exactly that. I checked out of Hotel Mount Fuji and boarded the shuttle bus. When I arrived at Fujisan Station, I first rented a bicycle. On my trips I often use a bicycle in places I’m visiting for the first time. I like walking around towns, but it takes time and limits how far you can go. With a bike you can cover much more ground and immediately stop to enjoy an amazing view when you find one. In Fujiyoshida City, where spectacular views of Mount Fuji spread out, I was convinced a bicycle was the ultimate tool. That prediction proved spot on. I pedaled to Fujiyama Onsen. It was 11:00 a.m. The building’s exterior immediately conveyed a sense of history. Inside it was remarkably quiet—in other words, it was empty. That was to be expected: Fujiyama Onsen offers a morning bath from 6:30 to 9:00 for 800 yen, while the regular fee is 2,000 yen. My visit at 11:00 fell squarely after the morning-bath crowd had left. From a cost perspective the morning bath is cheaper. But if you’re after the quality of the experience, you have to go against the masses. I like to have the sauna and cold plunge bath to myself during quiet hours. That’s my approach. I completed registration and headed to the main bathing hall. The moment I stepped into the bathing area I was stunned. First I looked up at the ceiling and was speechless. Far overhead stretched a massive timber frame assembled without a single nail. Zelkova, cypress, and pine. The scent of wood mixed with steam and filled my nostrils. Looking up at the main pillar, it was extraordinarily thick—apparently a zelkova over 200 years old. The ceiling height is 12 meters, and the bathing hall is over 100 tsubo. I’ve visited more than 300 facilities, but this was the first time I’d gasped when entering a bathing hall. I was moved before even getting in the bath. Could this really be happening? But Fujiyama Onsen is not just about the architecture. The hot spring, the sauna, and the cold plunge bath are all superb. I lingered near the entrance for a while, overwhelmed by the scale, until an older man who appeared to be a regular shot me a puzzled look. I snapped back to myself and went to cleanse my body. I warmed up in the indoor natural hot spring first. Fujiyama Onsen’s spring quality is rare nationwide: a high-quality natural hot spring blending magnesium, calcium, sodium-bicarbonate, sulfate, and chloride springs. Soaking in the water, I looked up at the timber frame above. The space woven from the warmth of wood and steam was beautiful. Feeling moved by architecture while bathing is a rare experience. First round. I headed to FUJIYAMA SAUNA. It’s a Finnish-style sauna centered around a large iki stove, the lights dimmed to create a dark-modern space. It can fit about 20 people, but I was the only user. I had it to myself. There was no TV. It was an environment for a deep, personal session. I love this early-morning time slot. Looking around the sauna, I noticed a mural. It was drawn by Katsuki Tanaka, the author of the manga Sado that helped spark the sauna boom in Japan. The mural depicts people enjoying the sauna with löyly while looking at Mount Fuji. I had wanted to enjoy the sauna while looking at Mount Fuji myself, but neither yesterday nor this morning had that been possible. At least in this mural Mount Fuji was visible. That was a small consolation. After heating my body thoroughly, I headed to the cold plunge bath. It’s fed by natural vanadium-rich water drawn from 150 meters underground. The water temperature is about 13°C, but it doesn’t feel sharp on the skin. There’s a pleasantness that makes you want to stay in longer. Ordinary tap water at 13°C would feel piercing and you couldn’t stay long. This sensation can only be savored in a cold plunge filled with natural water. The vanadium content is said to be about twice that of commercial mineral water. I could feel my body rejoicing. I moved to the outdoor cool-down area, where about ten chairs are lined up in a rotunda-like open-air space luxuriously using beautiful stones. The atmosphere is outstanding. The moment I sat down, sunlight broke through. I could enjoy sunbathing at the same time. From the very first round I was wrapped in an indescribable pleasure. With the sun coming out, perhaps the weather was clearing. Maybe Mount Fuji would appear. My spirits brightened. Second round. After the outdoor cool-down I soaked in the open-air hot spring. After an exquisite cold plunge and an outdoor cool-down, bathing in the hot spring produces an otherworldly comfort. At facilities with excellent hot springs, this routine becomes standard. I slowly warmed my body again and returned to FUJIYAMA SAUNA. After warming up for a while, lights shone on the iki stove. The colors shifted through red, green, and pale purple, and then the automatic löyly began. The löyly, of course, was produced with Fujiyama’s vanadium water. Pleasant steam filled the sauna and the perceived temperature rose rapidly. The time for the cold plunge was approaching. I jumped into the vanadium-water cold plunge. My body cooled sharply. 13°C. Yet oddly it felt pleasant. I wanted to stay in a little longer. My body seemed to enjoy it. Collapsing into a chair for the outdoor cool-down, I lay there in the sunlight, dazed and unable to move for a while. Third round. I completed the morning’s sauna routine of outdoor cool-down, natural hot spring, sauna, and cold plunge. Before leaving the bathing hall I looked up at that timber frame once more. I was reluctant to go. It’s a place I definitely want to return to.

After getting out of the bath I headed to the third-floor lounge. Beyond the windows stood Mount Fuji. That mountain, which hadn’t shown itself once from yesterday evening through this morning, finally appeared right before my eyes. It was ten times larger than I had imagined from photos. Could it really be this huge? And this beautiful? I sat in the post-bath lounge and stared at Mount Fuji for about 30 minutes. I couldn’t move. After finishing a meal at the restaurant, I swung onto my rental bike and headed toward Lake Kawaguchi. By the time I reached Lake Kawaguchi, the blue sky had fully spread. Riding across Kawaguchiko Bridge by bicycle, I stopped repeatedly to take photos. Mount Fuji reflected on the lake’s surface. The blue of the sky and the white of the snow. I couldn’t believe such a view existed. I parked my bike on the lakeside of Lake Kawaguchi and sat on a bench. The view I had longed to see was right in front of me. That Mount Fuji I had desperately wanted to see from yesterday evening through this morning was now proudly there. The emotion defied words. For a while I couldn’t think of anything. My dream of sitting in a sauna at Hotel Mount Fuji while looking at a spectacular view hadn’t come true. But instead I discovered superb architecture, hot springs, and saunas at Fujiyama Onsen, witnessed the full view of Mount Fuji for the first time after bathing, and obtained such breathtaking scenery that I kept stopping again and again while cycling around Lake Kawaguchi. The fact that some things are impossible means other things are possible. If you keep moving with hope, you may receive unexpected rewards. I returned the rental bicycle and enjoyed Mount Fuji’s views until sundown as much as I could. That was enough. I couldn’t ask for more. Now the night-time sauna journey begins. I boarded the Fujikyu Line, bound for the next destination: Yamanashi Tomareru Onsen Yorimichi no Yu in Tsuru City, Yamanashi Prefecture.