We often receive requests from customers who want to visit Mt. Fuji. It is possible to make a day trip to Mt. Fuji from Tokyo, but this will require a full day. There are also several destinations available depending on your preference, so we need to know the details of your request.
First, please clarify whether your request is to “climb Mt. Fuji” or to “view Mt. Fuji”. This will divide the plans into the following three types.
If you want to climb Mt. Fuji
There are dangers involved in climbing to the summit, and our company is unable to provide assistance. Please contact a company that provides specialist mountain guide services.
If you are going to Mt. Fuji by car, you can drive up the special road to the fifth station (at an altitude of about 2,300 meters). At the fifth station, there are parking lots, as well as restaurants and souvenir shops. You can either take a taxi from Fujisan Station after taking the limited express train from Tokyo(Shinjuku), or drive there directly from Tokyo. As you will be driving up and down a long distance on the special road, the price will be higher than the usual chartered car price. In winter, the road may be closed due to snow or icy conditions. The view from the fifth station is wonderful if the weather is good, but it is often bad, and it is not uncommon for the view to be completely obscured by fog. Also, the temperature is about 15 degrees lower than in downtown Tokyo, so you need to be careful about what you wear.
Secondly, if you want to see the whole of Mt. Fuji from a distance, rather than climbing it, you will need to go to a place a little way away from the mountain itself. If you are going from Tokyo, there are two recommendable places that are good for viewing Mt. Fuji: the Hakone region and the Fuji Five Lakes region.
If you want to see Mt. Fuji
Hakone region
Hakone is located in Kanagawa Prefecture, about 30 kilometers southeast of the summit of Mt. Fuji.
Generally, it is convenient to take a bullet train (Shinkansen) from Tokyo to Odawara and then hire a car. There are also mountain railways and buses in the Hakone area, but the transport links are not very good, so if you want to make the most of your time, we recommend hiring a car locally. However, local taxi companies only accept bookings only one week in advance. If you want to be sure to get a car, you could hire a car in Tokyo and drive there and back to Tokyo.
Places of interest in the Hakone area include the Lake Ashinoko and its Pirate Boat, the Hakone Sekisho historical site, the Hakone Shrine(a historic shrine on the shores of Lake Ashi), the Komagatake Ropeway, and Owakudani where you can see volcanic activity. If you stay overnight, you can enjoy the abundant hot springs.
| Tokyo – Odawara by Bullet train (Shinkansen) round trip | Yen8,000 | per Head |
| Shinjuku – Odawara by Odakyu Romance Express train round trip | Yen4,000 | per Head |
| A chartered local taxi at Odawara for 5 hours | Yen41,000 – 45,000 (incl. 10% tax and toll fee) | per Car |
| A chartered car from Tokyo to Hakone round trip for 10 hours | Yen98,000 – 105,000 (incl. 10% tax and toll fee) | per Car |
Fuji Five Lakes Region
Another option is the Fuji Five Lakes Region. It is located in Yamanashi Prefecture, to the northeast of Mt. Fuji, and is about 15 kilometers from the summit.
It takes about 2 hours to get to the Fuji Five Lakes area from Shinjuku Station in Tokyo by express train. There is no Shinkansen, so you will need to take the JR conventional line and the Fujikyu Railway line. As there is no other local transport option than buses, we recommend that you charter a car locally. The ease of booking taxis is not much different from the Hakone area.
Places of interest in the Fuji Five Lakes area include the Fuji Five Lakes, Arakurayama Sengen Park, which has become famous on social networking sites, the eight lakes of Oshino, where water from Mt. Fuji gushes forth, the majestic Fuji Sengen Shrine, and the ropeway. You can also stay at a hot spring. If you want to go to the fifth station of Mt. Fuji, you will usually enter the special road from the direction of the Fuji Five Lakes.
| Shinjuku – Fujisan by JR/Fujikyu Express train round trip | Yen8,000 | per Head |
| A chartered local taxi at Fujisan for 5 hours | Yen38,000 – 54,000 (incl. 10% tax and toll fee) | per Car |
| A chartered car from Tokyo to Fuji Five Lakes round trip for 10 hours | Yen101,000 – 108,000 (incl. 10% tax and toll fee) | per Car |
| A chartered car from Tokyo to Fuji Five Lakes and Mt.Fuji 5th station round trip for 10 hours | Yen110,000 – 119,000 (incl. 10% tax and toll fee) | per Car |
The following are the main differences between the Hakone region and the Fuji Five Lakes region.
- The Fuji Five Lakes region is closer to Mt. Fuji, so the mountain looks bigger.
- The Hakone region is more convenient to access from Tokyo, as you can use the Shinkansen bullet train.
- Both regions offer lakes, shrines and ropeways.
- The Fuji Five Lakes region is on the north side of Mt. Fuji, so the best time to see it is early in the morning (during the day, it is easy to get caught in the shadow of the sun shining from the south side. Mt. Fuji looks beautiful in Hakone when the sun shines on it during the day.
Finally, because Mt. Fuji has a mountainous climate, the weather is changeable, and the summit is often covered in clouds. Especially in summer, there are many clouds and the chance of seeing Mt. Fuji is low. It is higher in winter, when the air is dry and there are many sunny days. If you cannot see Mt. Fuji because it is hidden by clouds, please understand that this is a natural phenomenon.
If you understand these points and still wish to visit Mt. Fuji, please let us know specifically what kind of tour you would like to take.
