My first attempt at seeing Mt Fuji was… less than ideal.
The iconic mountain was completely hidden behind clouds, and just hours after arriving in the Fuji Five Lakes region, I came down with a nasty virus. I left on a bus bound for Tokyo the next morning feeling sick, disappointed, and miserable about the lack of Mt Fuji views.
On my second trip to Japan, I was determined to make up for my last disastrous visit to Fuji. I planned a day tour that would take me back to Kawaguchiko, and crossed all my fingers and toes for clear skies.
My prayers to the universe must have been answered, because I was rewarded with a beautifully sunny day with a snow-covered Fuji looking spectacular against the clear sky. I was ecstatic! These were the Mt Fuji views that I’d been so desperately hoping to see.
In this post, I’ll share exactly how I planned a day trip to Mt Fuji from Tokyo and share why Kawaguchiko is one of the best places to see it, plus what to expect if you take a guided tour to the Fuji Five Lakes area.
Quick summary:
Kawaguchiko, in the Fuji Five Lakes region, is one of the best spots to see Mt Fuji on a day trip from Tokyo. You can get there by train, bus, or guided tour. Top stops include Chureito Pagoda and Oishi Park for those iconic Fuji views.
Recommended tour:
I booked a Mt Fuji day tour with VIP Japan Tours through Viator, and it was a great way to hit the best Mt Fuji spots without the hassle. Super convenient if you’re short on time.
Why visit Kawaguchiko to see Mt Fuji?
The Fuji Five Lakes region (Fujigoko) is one of the best places to see Mt Fuji up close. The region covers the northern base of the mountain.
Of the five lakes, Lake Kawaguchi (Kawaguchiko) is the most popular because it’s the easiest to reach from Tokyo and it offers some of the most iconic views of Fuji. Visualise those postcard views with the mountain mirrored in still lake waters, with seasonal flowers or cherry blossoms in the foreground. That’s Kawaguchiko.
On top of being super photogenic, the area has a bunch of tourist-friendly amenities. Plus, being a little higher in elevation and less built-up than Tokyo, the air is cleaner and the views are more likely to be cloud-free—especially in the morning and during winter months.
A day trip to Mt Fuji from Tokyo is one of the most popular short excursions in Japan. Staying overnight does offer more flexibility (this is what I had planned in my first Japan itinerary), but a Mt Fuji day trip can still cover all the major highlights—especially if you join a guided tour, like I did during my second visit to Japan.
How to plan a day trip to Mt Fuji from Tokyo
Here’s how to get to Mt Fuji from Tokyo. It’s fairly easy to reach Kawaguchiko via bus, train, or guided tour.
Trains are scenic and reliable (via the Fujikyu Railway to Kawaguchiko Station), while buses are direct and often cheaper. The downside of taking the train or bus is that once they drop you off at Kawaguchiko, you’ll have to find your own way around the area.
This is the reason that I chose a to book a guided bus tour to visit Mt Fuji from Tokyo. Bus tours are ideal if you want to visit multiple Mt Fuji viewing spots without worrying about transfers, bus tickets, or schedules, and they allow you to see areas that are only accessible by road. They also allow you to see the best spots at Kawaguchiko in a short amount of time. I went with VIP Japan Tours for this trip, which I booked through Viator.
Mt Fuji day tour review
The tour collected us from Shinjuku, which was super convenient for me as I was staying in the area. Even if your hotel is not nearby, you can easily catch the Tokyo metro to Shinjuku Station and walk to the departure point from there.
I travelled during Golden Week, which is a big week of holidays in Japan, and as a result, the traffic heading out of Tokyo was painfully slow. What should have been a 2-hour drive to the Fuji Five Lakes region took us nearly 4 (yep, it was brutal), BUT we were rewarded with a clear day to see Mt Fuji in all its glory so I wasn’t overly upset about the delay in the end.
Unfortunately we did have to cancel one of the stops on the trip due to the traffic delay, and there were definitely some people on our tour that were disappointed about this, but it was out of our control and our tour guide was very apologetic about having to change our Mt Fuji day trip itinerary.
Our tour guide was a great character—Omar from Egypt—who had been living in Japan for four years. He was clearly stoked to be showing visitors around Japan, and his passion for the country and for his profession as a tour guide really showed.
Top places to see Mt Fuji in Kawaguchiko:
Some of the best spots to view Mt Fuji in the Fuji Five Lakes area are:
⛩️ Chureito Pagoda at the Arakura Sengen Shrine for the iconic red pagoda + Mt Fuji combo.
🌸 Oishi Park on Lake Kawaguchi’s northern shore for flower-lined lakefront views and Fuji reflections.
🚠 Mt Fuji Panoramic Ropeway for elevated views, one of the best Mt Fuji viewing spots.
My tour stopped at two of these places to get amazing Mt Fuji views in Kawaguchiko, plus a few other locations to grab food and drinks in the area.
Chureito Pagoda
Chureito Pagoda is one of the best things to do in Kawaguchiko. This is the classic Mt Fuji photo spot—the one you’ll see on postcards and travel brochures everywhere. The pagoda is actually part of Arakura Sengen Shrine, and it was built as a peace memorial in 1963. The real magic happens when you line up the bright red pagoda with Mt Fuji in the background, especially during cherry blossom season in April or when autumn leaves frame the view in late October to early November.
From the base of the hill, you’ll tackle 397 steps to reach the top. Yes, it was a bit of a workout and I saw lots of people taking multiple breaks on the way up (myself included)—but the view from the top is 100% worth the effort. The shrine is free to enter and is open year-round.
It does get very busy with tourists, especially mid-morning, so if you’re hoping for that iconic shot without too many people in the frame, go early. Ideally at sunrise if you’re staying overnight in the area (less practical on a day trip like mine). The sunlight was very bright in the middle of the day so my photos didn’t come out quite as good as I’d hoped, but honestly I was just grateful that Mt Fuji was visible at all!
Oishi Park
Oishi Park sits on the northern shore of Lake Kawaguchi, and it’s one of the best easy-access spots to see Mt Fuji. The park is famous for its flower gardens, which change with the seasons: you’ll find tulips in spring, lavender in early summer, and kochia (bushy red plants) in autumn.
The walking path runs along the lake with clear, unobstructed views of Mt Fuji on a good day. There’s also a small craft market next door called the Kawaguchiko Natural Living Center, where you can pick up local jams, snacks, and souvenirs. And don’t skip the onsite soft-serve ice cream shop—I got the lavender and coffee swirl, which was almost too cute to eat (almost).
Oishi Park is totally free to visit and very easy to access by tour bus or local bus from Kawaguchiko Station. It’s also stroller-friendly and relatively flat, so a good stop if you’re travelling to Mt Fuji with kids or don’t feel like climbing hundreds of stairs.
Lunch: Kawaguchiko Craft Park cafe restaurant
If you book the day tour, you can choose to order lunch with your ticket, or get the tour without lunch. I chose to get the lunch as they had a meat-free option on the menu, which is pretty rare for Japan!
I ordered the vegan Japanese curry. The rice came in the shape of Mt Fuji (which I only noticed afterwards when I was looking through my photos! Can’t believe I didn’t see it at the time). It was delicious and presented beautifully.
If you’re not vegetarian, then you can have fun ordering their little grilled beef options where you get an individual grill served to you to cook the meat at your table. I found it entertaining to watch the other tour members doing this—the Japanese sure do love theatrical food.
Dessert: Cheese Cake Factory
After lunch, a few members of the tour group made a quick stop at the Kawaguchiko Cheese Cake Garden—a quaint little shop known for its fluffy, Japanese-style cheesecakes. These aren’t the dense, rich cheesecakes you might be used to from the West—they’re light, airy, and subtly sweet, almost like a sponge cake and cheesecake hybrid.
The shop has a small café area where you can sit down and enjoy your dessert with a drink, but I was still full from lunch so I grabbed a frozen one to eat later at my hotel in Shinjuku. They box the cakes up nicely, which makes them great for taking on the bus. Mine was the classic plain cheesecake, and it was absolutely delicious when I finally tucked into it later that evening.
They also sell other flavoured varieties like blueberry, matcha, and seasonal specials, so if you’ve got a sweet tooth, this place is a must-stop. It’s right near the craft park where we had lunch, so super convenient if you’re doing a similar Mt Fuji itinerary.
Oshino Hakkai Village
Our tour was supposed to visit Oshino Hakkai village after lunch, but unfortunately the traffic delay meant that we didn’t have time as we would have arrived there just as it was closing to visitors. It was a disappointment, but I obviously understood why it had to be taken out of the itinerary.
Curiously, when I went on a day tour to Hakone three days later, one of the stops got cancelled due to weather and was replaced by Oshino Hakkai! So if you want to hear about this stop, head over to my post on Hakone.
Conclusion: Should you take a day trip to see Mt Fuji from Tokyo?
Absolutely—Kawaguchiko is one of the most photogenic places to see Mt Fuji, and if you get clear skies, it makes for a scenic day trip out of the city. The lake views, easy access, and well-developed tourist facilities make it a top destination for first-time visitors hoping to catch a glimpse of Japan’s most famous mountain.
Seeing Mt Fuji in person is one of those travel moments that I was really hoping to have on this trip to Japan, and I’m so grateful that it happened. Even with a few hiccups, my second attempt at seeing Mt Fuji was so much better than the first. I finally got to see it in all its snow-capped glory.
And while it’s possible to visit independently, a guided day tour to Mt Fuji is a great option if you want to squeeze in multiple scenic stops without the hassle of figuring out public transport. So if you’re tossing up whether it’s worth the trip, my advice is: go for it. You might just catch Mt Fuji on a perfect day.
*My day tour to Mt Fuji was sponsored by Viator. I’m proud to be an honest and transparent blogger, so every opinion expressed on AGWT is a true review of my experience.
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