The Fuji Course at Kawana Hotel

Why it is on the list

The Fuji Course runs along the shore below Kawana Hotel, on the Izu Peninsula, with the sea on one side and Mount Fuji in the distance; C.H. Alison designed it and it opened in 1936, 18 holes, 6,701 yards, par 72.¹ Alison came to Japan in 1930 and set the principles Japanese course design followed for the rest of the century.² The LPGA of Japan Tour has played the Fujisankei Ladies Classic here in April nearly every year since 2005.³ Baron Kishichiro Okura chose the site for its view across Sagami-nada to Mount Fuji, Oshima and the Izu islands; the hotel's main building has been a registered tangible cultural property since 2015.⁴⁵

For a shorter, gentler round, the Oshima Course next to it is the older of the two: designed by Komyo Otani, opened in 1928, 5,711 yards, par 70.¹ For someone who does not play, the Sun Parlor, the glass café that juts out over the sea, has the same view.⁴

How to get it

Book the tee time with the hotel by email at spw-kawana-rsv@seibugroup.jp and ask for the Fuji Course; the course is open all year, by reservation only, and its hours change with the season.¹ A full set of clubs and golf shoes can be hired.¹ From Ito Station the hotel runs a free shuttle, about 30 minutes, that must be booked in advance with the reservation section on +81 557 45 1111 and leaves on time even if the train is late.⁶ From Haneda, JTB runs a flat-fare taxi to the hotel.⁷

Discretion

The course belongs to the hotel and is played only by reservation.¹ In the tournament week in late April the Fuji Course belongs to the tour and the crowds: the 2024 event drew upwards of six thousand visitors.³ The hotel hosted the 1998 Japan-Russia summit between Ryutaro Hashimoto and Boris Yeltsin, and the Emperor has stayed here.⁴