Kawana Fuji: Alison's clifftop course now the Fujisankei has gone

The Fuji course at Kawana, on the east coast of the Izu Peninsula, is No. 61 in GOLF’s 2025–26 ranking of the world’s top 100 courses. To play it you have to stay at the Kawana Hotel next door and walk the round with a caddie. Prince Hotels, which runs the hotel and both of its courses, says the course “is available only to the hotel guests”.

The men’s Fujisankei Classic was played here from 1981 to 2004, and the Fujisankei Ladies Classic followed every April from 2005 to 2024, except in 2020. The 2025 edition was cancelled after its main sponsor, Fuji Television, lost advertisers over the scandal involving the former TV host Masahiro Nakai, Japan Today reported. In December 2025 Kyodo News reported that the event would end altogether: the organiser had withdrawn from the April 2026 date, citing “various circumstances”.

From 10 to 13 June 2026 the course staged the JLPGA Legends Championship Meiji Yasuda Cup, an event on the women’s senior tour, played at 6,235 yards with a par of 72. Yoko Maeda started the final round four shots behind and won by four at −1, the only player under par. She birdied three holes in a row from the 10th and dropped shots at the 15th and 17th, according to the JLPGA.

Built by hand above Sagami Bay

Baron Kishichiro Okura, who had studied in Britain, opened the first course at Kawana, the Oshima, in 1928 on land that had been meant for a ranch. Charles Alison, the English architect who designed or remodelled courses at Hirono and Kasumigaseki, visited Kawana in late 1930 and persuaded Okura to build a second course, according to Planet Golf. The Fuji opened in 1936, the same year as the hotel. Prince Hotels says it was built by hand on a lava plateau above Sagami Bay. Alison’s bunkers have steep lips throughout, and Prince Hotels says it has recently improved their drainage.

The scorecard reads 6,701 yards from the blue tees and 6,242 from the whites, par 72. GOLF puts the drop from the highest point on the course to the lowest at 165 feet. The 1st falls nearly 100 feet from the tee to a big bunker in the fairway, according to LINKS Magazine. The 11th, a par 5 of 619 yards along the cliffs, is the longest hole on the card.

The 15th and 16th

Planet Golf calls the 15th the signature hole. It is a par 5 of 480 yards that runs downhill from a high tee beside the bluffs. The fairway tilts left towards the sea, and bunkers on the right push tee shots that way. The green is narrow and two-tiered, and sits in a hollow split by a small ridge. Jumbo Ozaki once hit three balls in a row out of bounds towards the water from the 15th tee, Prince Hotels says.

The 16th is a par 3 of 185 yards from the back tee to a small green. Prince Hotels says it was a deciding hole in the final stages of the Fujisankei Ladies.

Booking a room and a tee time

Rounds on the Fuji are booked through the hotel as part of a stay, by email to spw-kawana-rsv@seibugroup.jp or by telephone on +81 557 45 1111. The Japan National Tourism Organization lists the Fuji green fee at ¥47,800 on weekdays and ¥63,700 on holidays at the time of writing, with prices varying by plan and season. The Oshima course, 5,711 yards, takes visitors who are not staying at the hotel and costs from ¥12,300. Clubs and shoes can be hired.

From Tokyo, the Tokaido Shinkansen reaches Atami in 43 minutes and the JR Ito Line goes on to Ito in another 25, according to Ito city’s Hidden Heritage guide. The hotel is about 15 minutes from Ito station by taxi. A free hotel shuttle leaves Ito station at 11am, 1pm and 3.10pm and must be booked in advance.

The greens are zoysia. Prince Hotels says they usually run at 10 feet on the Stimpmeter, were taken to 11 to 12 for the April tournament and drop to 8 or 9 in summer. LINKS Magazine recommends spring or autumn for a visit.

Sources

• Prince Hotels: Kawana Hotel Golf Course, Fuji Course
• Prince Hotels: Kawana Fuji Course tournament information
• Prince Hotels: Golf at Kawana Hotel
• Prince Hotels: History of Kawana Hotel
• Prince Hotels: Kawana Hotel access and shuttle bus
• GOLF: Kawana (Fuji), Top 100 Courses in the World
• GOLF: Kawana and Charles Alison’s golden age in Japan
• Planet Golf: Kawana Golf Hotel, Fuji Course
• LINKS Magazine: Kawana Resort, Fuji Course
• Japan National Tourism Organization: Kawana Hotel Golf Course
• Ito Hidden Heritage: Kawana Hotel access
• Wikipedia: Fujisankei Ladies Classic
• Japan Today: Fujisankei Ladies to be cancelled as TV host scandal takes toll
• Kumamoto Nichinichi Shimbun (Kyodo): Fujisankei Ladies to end
• JLPGA: Yoko Maeda wins the Legends Championship Meiji Yasuda Cup
• Australian War Memorial: The Kawana Hotel golf course by the Pacific Ocean