Mount Fuji Day Trip : Adventure around Lake Kawaguchiko

Experience Japan’s most famous and iconic landmark during your trip to Japan on this day trip from Tokyo!

This tour has been designed to ensure customers will have opportunities to see Mount Fuji from many impressive locations around the Lake Kawaguchiko area. If you love nature and spending time outdoors, this tour is for you! The tour will provide guests with a well balanced itinerary including nature, shrines and temples, a museum and great photography opportunities.

Lake Kawaguchiko is the biggest of the five lakes that surround Mount Fuji, and it is therefore the best to visit for a day trip to experience as much as possible. Your tour will begin travelling from Shinjuku Express Bus Station in Tokyo to Kawaguchiko station. From there, you will use the sightseeing bus with your tour guide to explore Lake Kawaguchiko!

Your first stop will be at Lake Kawaguchiko’s nature park where you can enjoy a relaxing walk through a flower garden as you take in fantastic views of Mount Fuji and some shopping at a local centre to pick up the perfect souvenir of your day. Next, we will visit a famous and beautiful shrine complex that provides a sense of peace and more fantastic views of Mount Fuji. You will then enjoy some culture at a local art museum famous for its artistic kimonos all displaying beautiful scenes from nature and the four seasons. Finally, you will then travel on to enjoy a ropeway experience so you can sit back and relax as you take in the breathtaking views of Mount Fuji and its largest lake. It will then be time to head back to Kawaguchiko station and take the bus back to Tokyo.

HIGHLIGHTS 

• The opportunity to take a day trip from Tokyo to see Mount Fuji with an English speaking guide!

•  Visit three popular vantage points to see Mount Fuji from different perspectives!

• Visit a unique museum and get up close to beautiful kimono!  
  
• Enjoy a ropeway ride and enjoy views of Mount Fuji, and across Lake Kawaguchiko!
  

DESCRIPTION

The tour will begin at 07:50 outside of the Shinjuku bus terminal entrance where you will meet your tour guide. You will meet directly outside of the Bus station building. Once everybody has arrived, you will officially start the tour and your tour guide will escort you to the bus terminal with your bus tickets to depart Tokyo for Kawaguchiko. Depending on traffic, the journey should take approximately 2 hours. So sit back, relax and enjoy the views! It is advised you buy breakfast and snacks to eat on the journey.

Once we arrive at Kawaguchiko station, your tour guide will purchase your sightseeing bus passes and you will hop on the Lake Kawaguchiko sightseeing bus and begin your adventure around the lake! Your first destination will be a visit to Lake Kawaguchiko’s Nature park. Some say the park offers the best views and vantage point of Mount Fuji at Kawaguchiko! You can decide as you enjoy a relaxing time walking amongst nature, flowers and take in the stunning views of the lake and Mount Fuji. The flowers here change with each season, so the landscape is always changing! The park has cafes and a great natural centre which is also famous for its shops and soft serve ice cream, so it is highly recommended you pick up some souvenirs and food here!

Your second destination will be a shrine known for its views and vantage point of Mount Fuji. Nestled among ancient Cedar trees, this shrine is used for Fuji worship and over time has become known as an iconic location to view Fuji! Please note, that this portion of the tour includes a short hike. There are many steps and a hilly terrain to climb through the forest to reach the vantage point, but the views from the top will be your reward! There is a seating area and a local vendor selling snacks and drinks at the top so you can sit and relax after your climb. This is where you can take your lunch break. Due to the location, a picnic style lunch is best so please make sure you have bought food and drinks for your lunch break here. If you do not wish to do the short hike, please inform your guide. There is a small cafe and a rest area just outside of the Shrine complex main entrance with toilets and seating.

Your next destination will be a unique museum famous in Japan’s art scene. The museum houses the works of a famous Japanese silk dyer and displays artistic kimono from his career. Each kimono displays nature and the Japanese landscape, portraying the seasons, ocean and of course Mount Fuji. Depending on the time of year, the kimonos on display are rotated. For centuries, Mount Fuji has inspired artist’s work and this museum is a fantastic opportunity to bear witness to this. Enjoy these beautiful kimono and how nature and Mount Fuji has been interpreted through art. Not only can you enjoy viewing the artist’s amazing and unique works, but also the Japanese and Gaudi inspired architecture of the museum. There is also a beautiful garden and trail that you can walk around, as well as a tea house serving delicious matcha tea and traditional Japanese sweets (wagashi). Please take time to relax and enjoy the calming atmosphere.

After your fill of culture, it’s time to step outside again for our final stop! You will board the sightseeing bus again to take you to the Fuji Ropeway. Here you will board the ropeway car and enjoy a short trip up to the top of a mountain that looks over all of Lake Kawaguchiko and Mount Fuji! At the top of the ropeway complex you will also find a small shrine, and a Torii gate where you can throw ’eternity’ clay cups through to help you fulfil your wishes!

After enjoying the views at the top of the ropeway complex, we will take the ropeway car back down and board the next available sightseeing bus back to Kawaguchiko station. This will take approximately 15 minutes. Once we arrive at Kawaguchiko station, you will have some time to buy souvenirs, food and drinks, and use the toilet before we get our return bus to Tokyo! So sit back, relax and enjoy the views on the return journey.

MEETUP POINT

Outside Shinjuku Bus Terminal @ 07:50am

You will meet your tour guide outside of Shinjuku Bus Terminal. If you’re staying at a hotel in Shinjuku please meet at the destination pictured above and shown on the map. If you are travelling to Shinjuku by train, please follow signs for the SOUTH GATE EXIT. When you come out of the station, there will be a road crossing directly in front of you. Cross the road and in front of you will be Shinjuku bus station and the tour meeting point. The exact meeting point location is pictured above.

Be sure to look for the guide wearing a SNOW MONKEY RESORTS tour tag. Once everybody has met at this location, you will officially start the tour.

NOTES

Included 

• Transport fees for Shinjuku Express Highway Bus return journey

• One day pass for Lake Kawaguchiko Sightseeing Bus Red Line

• Lake Kawaguchiko Fuji Ropeway round trip ticket
  
• Admission fees for the Art Museum

• Local English speaking guide

Excluded

• Trains and transport before and after the tour

• Food and drink

OTHER INFORMATION

• Due to the popularity of the Shinjuku Express Highway buses, tickets can sell out fast. Therefore, we recommend that you book this tour as far in advance as possible and provide us with no less than 1 weeks (7 days) notice of your tour booking. Any later and it is likely we will not be able to book morning bus tickets.
  
• This tour is designed as a day trip from Tokyo, but if you wish to book this tour for a private charter package travelling onto Nagano after the tour please contact us and we can accommodate your request.
  
• Please note that this is not a climbing tour of Mount Fuji. This is a tour to enjoy views of Mount Fuji and the natural landscape of Lake Kawaguchiko.
  
• Due to this tour using public transport, timings are subject to some change if traffic is poor or the day of travel is particularly busy.
  
• This tour involves several hours of walking in the outdoors. We recommend that you wear sensible shoes (no open toe shoes or sandals due to the short hike) and clothes which are easy to walk in. Please check the weather forecast before you head to the meetup point and prepare an umbrella or rain coat if necessary.

• There will be free time at the nature park and museum for guests to enjoy the locations at their own pace. However, please make sure that you are at the respective meetup points at the time stated by your guide on the day of the tour. If you get lost or need assistance, feel free to call the number which is listed on your tour pass, and our staff will assist you immediately.

• Due to this being a walking tour, it is advised that you do not bring any luggage or large bags with you on the tour. It is advised that you check if your hotel can store your luggage for you until after the tour, or you store your luggage at lockers at a suitable location such as selected train stations with appropriate storage. For example, many stations in Tokyo will have lockers, especially the larger train stations such as Shinjuku, Shibuya and Tokyo.