As Silver Week ( a beginning of autumn public holiday here in Japan) comes to an end, here’s another little travel diary from a little trip we went on with our dogs. When it comes to traveling inside Japan things are becoming easier and easier to go with your fury friends but things sometimes remain a challenge. We really like taking our dogs with us to nature and we love seeing the joy in their faces when their paws touch the grass and their noses point up to smell the fresh air. I thought to myself well, if we start feeling stuffy in the city what would they feel trapped in a concrete city full of cars and people. For our little silver week getaway we planned last minute to Lake Yamanakako and it’s definitely a trip to re-do in the near future as we saw lots of water sports shop lined up around the lake. Read on to find out about our stays, restaurant picks and our beautiful pampas hike!
The hotel: Lodge Kazukien
A quiet morning on our deck, after a good cozy night of sleep on our futons
Willow and Mugi enjoying the forresty dog run and getting lots of seeds everywhere on their fur ( seeds we spent over an hour taking out later that evening)
We picked this lodge as it advertised stays with dogs… unfortunately I booked through a third party and very last minute which meant that I didn’t get to read sufficient informations regarding dogs staying there. Mugi, our newest pup who usually sleeps in a crate had to sleep outside as we had assumed the hotel would have a crate ( a very common feature in pet friendly hotels in Japan) Luckily he adapted very well and didn’t move from his dog bed the whole night. The lodge was very big, equipped with a small kitchen, a deck, two little beds, dining table area and a tatami room. The lodge also had a tennis court, and three huge dog runs totally about 6600. m2 where the dogs could go crazy in. The only downside I’d say was that we had to reserve everything in advance, bbq, breakfast, dinner etc so we didn’t get to enjoy as much of the hotel as we reserved it a little last minute. After some research I also noticed that Lake Yamankako is a very very dog friendly travel destinations with plenty of other dog friendly resorts and cabins!
Our Activity: Ohirayama Hike
Everywhere you look, surrounded by pampas grass
right: some type of white thistle that I’ve never seen before growing around the top of the hike
About 10 mins by car from our lodge, we went to the parking lot of this hike and trekked up to the top.If I’m being honest my plan was to lounge around and maybe walk around the woods but my husband insisted on this hike as it was known for being covered in pampas grass. As a man, he usually never is interested in flora but after playing this game Ghost of Tsushima, he has been on the hunt for locations in Japan that reminded him of this game. And… let me tell you, it absolutely did not disappoint! From the bottom to the top, the whole trek was covered in pampas grass. Even though it was the beginning of the season it was some sight to see. It was definitely an easy hike but… One advice I’d give would be to wear shoes with good soles. The soil was quite loose and grainy which made it a bit difficult on certain parts but for the most part our dogs including our lower energy dog willow did fine and even loved it even though she had to be carried for some very crumbly soil or steep parts. Once we arrived to the top we noticed people coming up the other side the mountain and turns out the other way is a little easier so if you want to enjoy the views without sweating too much.. then I’d recommend taking that route. You can usually also see mount fuji from this hike, and even with all the clouds hiding it that day it was an amazing experience.
Pet Friendly Eateries
Yamanakako was by far one of the most dog friendly places I’ve been to in Japan. Most restaurants offering terrace seats and some even had a dog run. Everywhere we went we met fellow travelers with dogs and cats which made it even more fun. There was so many spots we wanted to try but didn’t have enough time for so here I’ve round up a few places that are dog friendly and fun to visit
LINK TO ABOVE RESTAURANTS & CAFES: Paper Moon ・Dallas Village ・Sengen Chaya Honten ・Hammock Cafe
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