Mount Fuji hotel/ resorts bookings?

I'm travelling around Japan end of March, start of April next year, 2024.

I have found it very easy to book in 4 out of the 5 locations so far but booking a room around the lakes near Mount Fuji is very difficult. A lot of resorts or hotels are saying you can only book 6 months in advance or 3 months in advance! Is this normal?

I'm hoping I don't miss out on a nice place to stay in certain areas.

The 3 and 6 months n advance is very normal for Japan.

If you wanna book earlier for whatever reason. Use booking sites like booking dot com. But they will still be limited with what they offer.

Thank you H

I will have to keep searching. The problem I see is that many hotels show no bookings available for the dates I was hoping to book on those booking websites. not sure if that means they are actually booked out or have not released rooms yet. Maybe I should wait until the 3 month window opens.

If looking now, you might be running into the March/April change-over. Some properties change prices for 1st April and if they have not set new rates yet, you can't book. I've struck that in the past.

Thank you Japancustomtours.

Have you any idea why this area is so busy this time of year?

I seem to be able to get maybe 2 nights in a row in some places that loo amazing but unfortunately, not all nights.

End of March, beginning of April is one of the hardest times to book hotels in Japan, because of cherry blossom season. Even in places that donft have blooms going on, there will be tourists who have come to Japan to see sakura.

If any of your nights are Friday or especially Saturday, that would be another complicating factor.

In booking two upcoming trips recently, I have found that optimal lead times for making hotel reservations in popular places are longer than they used to be. More properties are opening up their calendars farther in advance, and desirable places book out many weeks, or even months, in advance. And if they do still have rooms, often the rates go up. (Of course, sometimes they go down, or sales show up, so I always book as soon as I can, and then keep checking, which is how I know that it has gotten harder to book hotels than it used to be. At least, that is my experience.)

A couple of months ago I booked some hotels for the first half of March, and some of those places have already sold out, or at least the room categories I booked are no longer available. And that is not even late March. It doesnft surprise me that the peak of sakura season would be a challenge. Fuji Five Lakes is popular and doesnft have the glut of hotels that the large cities do.

I suppose I should add that there ARE still some places that donft open their calendars up more than three months in advance. So you could keep trying and hopingc But if places youfre looking at have some of the days you want but not others, then that wouldnft be the reason. You might have to end up changing your dates, or making a hotel change in the middle.

Oddly enough, these days I find Kyoto easier to book than some other places. The number of new hotels that opened in the few years before the pandemic, and then since 2020, is rather mind-boggling.

Hi Kim

Thank you for your information, greatly appreciated.

I have found it very easy for Tokyo, Kyoto and Hiroshima accommodation, once I found a double bed in the room!

That's good info about the rooms being taken on certain dates already, makes sense that they will be booked already and not held back

I have emailed a few places directly and they have been very helpful so hopefully something will come up.