Vivi and I got up early this morning for two hotel site inspections in Kyoto. We took the metro over to the Ritz-Carlton Kyoto, where we were greeted by Eri, the Director of Sales. She gave us a full tour of the property, and it was absolutely stunning. The hotel is only about ten years old, so it feels fresh and contemporary, but still has all the refined details you’d expect from a Ritz-Carlton. The location along the river is superb. It would easily have been the nicest hotel of the trip if we had stayed there.

From there we took a taxi to The Mitsui for another site inspection with their Director of Sales, Tomo. This property is also beautiful, located right in the center of Kyoto across from Nijo Castle. The design blends modern luxury with traditional Japanese elements, and it’s a place I’d love to recommend to future clients.

After finishing the visits, we went back to the Moxy to meet Bart and Ale and gather our luggage. We caught the train from Kyoto to Odawara, which took about three hours on the shinkansen. It was a smooth and very comfortable ride at over 200 miles per hour.

When we arrived in Odawara, we found the Nissan Rent-a-Car office right outside the station. We picked up a funny-looking Nissan van that would be our ride for the next couple of days. It took about an hour and fifteen minutes to drive up to the Fuji Marriott. The drive up was a road winding through forests and small mountain towns, finishing at Lake Yamanaka, about 1000m above sea level.

At the hotel, we checked in and learned about a buffet-style “food bar” in the lounge, so we grabbed a quick meal and some drinks before heading to our rooms. We had booked two different types of rooms for the experience: one with a private onsen built in, and the other a traditional tatami-style room where you sleep on the floor. Vivi and I stayed in the onsen room for the first night.

The girls went to the large public onsen in the hotel that evening, but that’s not really my thing, so I stayed in the room and used our private onsen instead. The water was incredibly hot, and I could only handle about four minutes before having to get out. After that, I spent some time working on the Inspire Travel Designers website and winding down. It was a relaxing evening after a long travel day, and a nice change of pace from the busy cities we’d been exploring.