When Mount Fuji has her hat on, so ancient legend goes, it will rain. And so, it did. A mantle of cloud over the 3,776-metre summit announced a day of raining cats, dogs and Japanese dragons.
This changeable cyclone season did not bode well for a transition from the luxury of a traditionally built guest house with a rare Kirizuma-zukuri-style roof and ornate wooden carvings.
The guest house, which dominates Glamping Villa Hanz in Kawaguchiko, dates back to the 1550s and was rebuilt in 1840. Its look is Chumon-zukuri, a traditional Japanese architectural style that was prominent during the Heian period (794-1185). Chumon-zukuri is associated with the construction of residential palaces for the aristocracy.
The accommodation has a wine cellar, a Japanese-style bath (space for you and friends), Zashiki rooms with guest seating and intricate Japanese caligraphy, a Fukinuke atrium, a bar and a terrace to enjoy breakfast with a view of Mt Fuji.
Why swap the comfort of leather sofas, deep pile rugs, a crackling firepit and comfy bed for a damp clearing in the forest with rivulets of rainwater gushing past? Not to mention the bears.
But this was an adventure, a chance to chop wood for the barbecue, then cook supper – chicken hotpot and skewers of meat, vegetables, strawberries and marshmallows – and to shrug off urban life. And, thankfully, this was no ordinary campsite.
Villa Hanz Glamping hints at the luxuries in store – there are cabin-style “villas”, a guest house, and a collection of paos that look more like a domed space craft than tents.
There would be stargazing, canoeing, archery and cycling around the Fuji Five Lake region, a popular leisure destination among Tokyoites and international tourists for its proximity to the mountain, outdoorsy activities – and, in winter, snow sports.
I was looking forward to bathing in an onsen, a reviving hot spring bath filled with Fuji water that’s seeped through the volcanic rock over millennia. At Glamping Villa Hanz, a barrel sauna, Jacuzzi, cinema and amphitheatre complete the decadent picture.
After a fortifying slug of saki, I set off on a short walk through the trees with an overnight bag and Fuji mineral water to the campsite of 16 paos, all with kitchens and a barbecue area.
The accommodation is in Fujikawaguchiko, two hours south-west of Tokyo, with a serene lakeside landscape among towering cedars and red pines. It is a popular resort town on the fringes of Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park and the snow-capped stratovolcano that draws legions of tourists.
Japan has had a sharp increase in visitor numbers since it reopened to tourism after pandemic border closures, with more than three million estimated in April this year – up from 1.9 million last April. A highly favourable exchange rate for British tourists has contributed to the UK representing the highest proportion of European visitors last year.
In the woodlands, I entered my pao, a huge geodesic dome, through a proper door on to a squeaky-clean floor thanks to the custom of removing outdoor shoes once over the threshold of homes. There were reindeer hides and a bed big enough for a family, a springy mattress with smooth Egyptian sheets and a downy duvet to snuggle under as the rain tipped down.
With no brolly or directions to the nearest loo it was a relief, in all senses, to take just three steps to an outside cabin with a shower, five-star hotel toiletries and an all-singing-dancing-flushing lavatory.
The following morning, I listened to the beating of early bird wings and scuttling of dormice. Sleep was elusive, so I rose with the dawn chorus to the sun rising on Mt Fuji, casting a golden, glowing light on her snow cap. Magical.
Japan’s highest point is a series of overlapping volcanos that last erupted in 1707. She is mesmerising, mystical and majestic, twinned in friendship with her European sister, the Matterhorn.
Mt Fuji, a sacred symbol and World Heritage Site, is also a magnet for traffic-stopping tourists seeking selfies in this World Heritage Site, as well as thousands of climbers and trekkers. Sadly, the mountain claimed another three lives during our early summer stay.
I did nothing riskier than hike alongside a thundering gorge, join pilgrims climbing hundreds of steps to fascinating shrines and paddle a canoe across Lake Kawaguchiko.
My guide Toi ground coffee for a picnic and served his own honey on crackers, explaining how he gave up art and flower arranging for this outdoor life. “I love canoeing by the mountain. I want to share that happiness,” he smiled as eagles wheeled above us.
With a motto of “relax if you can”, the emphasis of Glamping Villa Hanz is on activity, self-sufficiency and relaxation. I managed most, with some light wood chopping, stirring breakfast scrambled eggs, barbecue duty and sinking craft beers and saki.
There was tea, too. I dressed up in a yukata, the more casual version of the formal silk kimono, for a traditional tea ceremony at the old guest house under the strict eye of 80-year-old Sensei Ogiso, from Yokohama. Tea is regarded as a sacred gift from god. It is “medicine and good for health”, she told us.
We were served sweet little cakes, or nerikiri, made from boiled beans and sugar while our teacher sat on her heels behind a beech table. She folded an orange napkin then wiped it around the rim of a blue bowl. She carefully ladeled boiling water from a pot over a fire into the bowl. The spoon has to be placed just so. If it falls it must be set again.
She whisked two spoonfuls of green matcha tea powder into a frothy liquid in a bowl before offering it to the main guest, who received it with both hands, rotating it to avoid drinking from the front as a gesture of respect. After we each drank from one bowl to show we trust each other, our teacher cleaned the utensils. Any discarded paper napkins are secreted up our sleeves.
We bowed and said thank you in turn. The entire session lasted for two and a half hours.
The slender yukata felt snug thanks to the matcha buns, hoto noodles, suiton flour dumplings, shrimp tempura regional cuisine and local wines I’d enjoyed at the first annual wine festival held at Oike Park on the shores of Lake Kawaguchiko. It was organised by Kuradashi Wine Bar, once a traditional brewery, to celebrate 200 aged wines from 35 winemakers of Yamanashi, Japan’s foremost wine-producing region.
Yamanashi’s wine industry is renowned for its unique characteristics. Thanks to its climate and volcanic soil, its Koshu grapes produce light, aromatic white wines. We even tracked down one winery that exports to the UK: Grace Wine. Its offering had received the Platinum Award at the Decanter World Wine Awards. “Kampai”, or Cheers, to that.
Bear had been on the menu, though I’d given this a miss. I preferred to let them roam – out of sight – on the forested slopes of sleeping Mt Fuji and her rain hat.
Travel essentials
Getting there
The writer flew with British Airways from Heathrow to Tokyo-Haneda. Return flights are priced from £952, ba.com.A direct train from Tokyo to Kawaguchiko station is priced from ¥2,360 (£11.50) and takes 70 minutes
Staying there
Glamping Villa Hanz has pao tents sleeping two from ¥32,000 (£159) a night, room only, and villas sleeping four from ¥86,570 (£431), gv-hanz.comMore information
fujisan.ne.jp/en
japan.travel