Hotel Koryu - A Tattoo-Friendly Hot Spring in Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi

Steam rises from the second-floor deck and drifts across Lake Kawaguchiko. From the outdoor bath up there, the water is almost too hot — the kind of heat that makes you slow down, sink lower, and watch the sunset turn the lake surface orange. That's the draw at Hotel Koryu: a retro lakeside hotel where the bathing comes with a view most ryokan in the Fuji Five Lakes charge twice as much for.

The building shows its age in the hallways and the heavy iron doors, but a new owner — a manga artist — is rewriting the place piece by piece. A sprawling manga library fills one wing. Free snacks and drinks line the lobby. Karaoke is included. The contrast between the old bones and the new personality gives Koryu a character that polished resort hotels can't replicate. Downstairs, the main bathhouse splits into indoor pools, a walking bath, and a small garden rotenburo. Upstairs, the lake-view outdoor bath is the one guests come back for — often empty, always hot.

If you're staying near Kawaguchiko and want an onsen where tattooed guests bathe openly alongside everyone else, with lake views and an all-inclusive buffet waiting afterward, Koryu is the lakeside pick that overdelivers on personality.

• Tattoos Accepted, No Restrictions: Multiple recent guest reviews confirm tattooed visitors use all communal baths — indoor, outdoor, and the second-floor lake-view rotenburo — without covers, patches, or staff concern.
• Lake Kawaguchiko from the Bath: The second-floor outdoor onsen overlooks the lake directly — sunsets turn the water gold and the sky red while you soak.
• Manga Library and All-Inclusive Extras: A full manga cafe, free snacks and drinks, karaoke, and yukata included — the hotel runs as an all-inclusive with more personality than most in the area.
• Private Open-Air Bath Rooms: Select rooms include their own outdoor tub on the balcony with lake views — a 24-hour soak without leaving your room.

Heat hits you before you see the water — the main first-floor bathhouse runs hot, split between indoor pools, a hitting spa, a walking bath, and a small garden-side outdoor section fed by the hotel's own spring. The water runs clear and soft, with a mild alkaline feel that leaves skin noticeably smoother. Guests describe the kind of heat that loosens everything after a day around the lake.

The second-floor outdoor bath is the quieter option and the better one. It faces Lake Kawaguchiko directly, often nearly empty, with water hot enough that the cool lake air on your shoulders becomes part of the experience. At sunset, the light moves across the water while you soak. Private baths are bookable for those who want their own space, and the in-room open-air tubs on the balcony rooms offer the same lake view without a time limit.