Hi — I’m Tabiiku. I travel around Japan with my daughter on the principle that experience is the best thing you can give a child. My daughter declared BUB RESORT Yatsugatake “more fun than USJ”. That is the review, really, but let me explain.
What makes this place extraordinary is the activity programme. The crew throw themselves into playing with the children. If your child is relentlessly physical — if you have ever described them as having monstrous stamina — this is the one.
| Overall | ★★★★★ |
| Condition of the building | ★ |
| Food | ★★ |
| Access | ★★★ |
| Activities | ★★★★★ |
| Value | ★★ |
BUB RESORT Yatsugatake
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Look at the timetable
We went during the summer programme, and from check-in to check-out there is not a single minute of unscheduled time.
Participation is optional, of course, and you can go back to your room whenever you have had enough. My daughter did more or less everything, and there was genuinely no gap: a member of crew calls out “right, we’re doing X next, come over here” and the next activity starts immediately.
Watermelon splitting, airsoft games, a summer festival, fireworks, a campfire, a treasure hunt, learning to be a barista — I have lost track of the rest.
Dinner, and the cleverest thing they do
Dinner is barbecue style, with burgers laid on for the children.
Here is what makes the crew remarkable: they understand not only how children feel but how parents feel. What is the problem with eating out with a small child? Exactly — you never get to eat your dinner in peace.
So the crew take the children who have finished eating away with them, and run hide-and-seek through the building, or a night safari by bus to go and look for deer. The parents sit and eat properly, and get as far as the dessert buffet.
The food is not luxury-hotel quality, so temper expectations on that front.
The rooms
Only the Suite was available when we booked, so we had no choice — and it turned out my daughter had long wanted bunk beds, so she was delighted and kept announcing that this would be our room next time as well.
As you might guess, in terms of popularity the North Standard rooms go first. If that is the one you want, book early.
An honest note on the building
So your expectations are set correctly: BUB RESORT Yatsugatake is a renovation of what was originally a municipal retreat facility for the city of Hino. Renovated or not, the building is old, and for the price some of the construction feels a little cheap. Honestly, the food and the accommodation are not what the price would suggest.
But the activity programme is at a level that beats a theme park, to the point where the food and the room stop mattering. If you are looking for somewhere the adults will enjoy, look elsewhere. If you are looking for somewhere your child will love, this is my first recommendation.
For what it is worth: getting on the bus home my daughter sobbed “I don’t want to go”, and the friends she had made and the crew waved until we were out of sight.
BUB RESORT Yatsugatake
Search availability on Booking.com
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