One-day independent trip from Tokyo to Kawaguchiko at Mount Fuji: cycling, photography, and food make it truly enjoyable
1. There is convenient public transport from Tokyo to the main attractions of Mount Fuji. You can take a train or bus to Kawaguchiko at any time. 2. The most beautiful scenery of Mount Fuji is around Kawaguchiko and the surrounding small towns; any recommendation to go to other scenic spots is just to take your money. 3. With an independent trip, you have full control over your time, and you can linger longer at any place you like. It is even romantic to stay overnight in a small town and watch the sunrise over Mount Fuji in the morning. 4. Unlike a superficial bus tour, you can choose a cycling route and see different beautiful scenery.
Go to Kawaguchiko on your own
I asked at the Tokyo Tourist Information Center about local travel tips. Actually, the most reasonable way to do a day trip to Mount Fuji is to go independently to Kawaguchiko Station. You can rent a bicycle and ride along the small lake path, visit Oishi Park to enjoy the flowers, take a ropeway up the mountain, and easily get there by bus or JR train! Take the subway to Shinjuku Station, cross the road to the highway bus terminal on the opposite side on the fourth floor to buy tickets and board (during summer, it is best to buy tickets online in advance ******). It is recommended to buy a round-trip ticket. The scenery is so beautiful that you will always want to stop and take photos, so be sure to allow plenty of time for your return! There are many online guides for independent travel to Kawaguchiko; just search for them — no need to suffer from lousy travel agencies!
Of course, this does not apply if you do not have the conditions for independent travel or need a chartered car for elderly people.
Shinjuku Station includes the southern highway bus terminal and the northern train station, which are connected underground, and you can take trains from either.
From Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal to Kawaguchiko Station: Take the subway to the south exit of Shinjuku Station, cross the road to the highway bus terminal on the opposite side on the fourth floor to buy tickets and board. During summer, it is best to buy tickets online in advance at the website: (see the top corner of the bus timetable) . Be sure to buy a round-trip ticket! In summer, if you do not buy a round-trip ticket, you may run out of tickets. On-site ticket purchase is on the fourth floor of this express bus building (EXPRESSWAY BUS). There are staff who speak Chinese and patiently explain how to buy tickets. See attached picture.
If you really did not get a bus ticket, there is another solution: take the train! Also on the second floor (ground floor) of this building, there are green JR train ticket machines where you can buy a ticket to Kawaguchiko Station for the same day. If you do not book tickets in advance (reserved seats), you may only get standing tickets (non-reserved seats). If you neither bought tickets in advance nor want to go immediately, you will have to stand for 2 hours on the way! As long as we can go, we are happy!
Taking the train from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko requires explanation of two situations: 1. Direct express trains (only a few fixed services, called the limited express "Fuji Excursion") require you to buy two tickets to ride: 1620 + 2510 = 4130 yen. See attached picture. You can understand that one ticket is the regular fare and the other is the express surcharge. 2. Apart from the special express trains, there are many regular trains, but you need to transfer at Otsuki Station (Shinjuku to Otsuki is the Chuo Line, Otsuki to Kawaguchiko is the Fujikyu Railway Line), and the fare is 3530 yen. Taking the train to Kawaguchiko also takes about 2 hours, similar to the bus. During summer, it is best to reserve train tickets in advance. You can search on the third-party Chinese website "Klook travel app (Klook)" or buy tickets on the JR Railway Japan official website ******.
Kawaguchiko Station is a combined train and bus terminal. If you want to cycle, you can rent bicycles at two nearby locations (a regular bike rents for about 2000 yen per day, equivalent to about 100 RMB; electric-assisted bikes are more expensive but worth it. If you have enough time and plan to do both routes, I recommend renting an electric-assisted bike). 81cafe also rents bicycles, and the staff there — two young ladies and one young man — are all lovely. The bicycle rental point is near Kawaguchiko Station. See the picture below.
There are mainly two cycling routes: one is the lake loop route, and the other is the Asami Park and internet-famous street route. If time allows, you can do both. My wife and I took the lake loop route, which is 17 km round trip. Including lunch, queuing for the Mount Fuji panoramic ropeway, visiting Oishi Park for flowers, and shopping, it took a total of 5 hours. The advantage of cycling is that you can take the beautiful lakeside road and stop anytime to take photos, which is incomparable to cars.
The lake loop route is 17 km round trip and mainly includes four prime spots for viewing the mountain and lake, one dining town, and one hilltop torii gate with an observation deck (accessible by ropeway). These are all classic photo spots.
Route 1: Cycling route and best viewpoints. See the picture below.
Only pedestrians and cyclists can take this lakeside path; car drivers can forget about it.
Lake viewing point: This is a kayak dock. Although you cannot see Mount Fuji, the lake is widest here, and there are swans for company!!!
Mountain viewing spot 3: Oishi Mountain flower fields are the most beautiful for photos. There are restaurants and duty-free shops here for rest and meals.
Lunch on the way back at a quiet dining town.
The small dining town is very quiet, with a variety of cuisines to choose from. See the route map for restaurant locations.
Tenjozan Park overlooks the entire Kawaguchiko and Mount Fuji.
On the way back, you will pass the entrance to Tenjozan Park. You can hike up or take the ropeway. During peak times, the ropeway queue can take half an hour, so plan accordingly. It is said that hiking up to the observation deck takes at least 40 minutes, and if you want to continue to the torii gate, you need another 15 minutes of climbing.
The ropeway station is visible from the roadside.
The torii gate of Komitake Shrine at the far end of Tenjozan takes half an hour to reach on foot.
If you have plenty of time, besides the lake loop route, there is another cycling route that is also very good, taking at least 2 hours. I did not have time for it because I did not plan the itinerary and time well in advance. After returning, I found some introduction pictures online for your reference. If you have enough energy and time, then continue with Route 2 — you will not be disappointed.
From Kawaguchiko Station, pass the internet-famous street with Hirosawa Clock Shop, then go to Arakurayama Asami Park, one-way distance 5.4 km.
This was my first time at Kawaguchiko, and I had not done much homework before, thinking it would be as simple as a certain online one-day tour described. After a day of cycling and observing various places, I found that Kawaguchiko really deserves at least three days of stay. It is quiet, beautiful, fresh, and comfortable, and there are many, many more places worth exploring slowly.
Most photos in this article are taken by myself; some are from the internet. If there is any infringement, I will change them promptly.
Travelogue directory: 1. Why choose independent travel to Mount Fuji? 2. Taking buses and trains from Tokyo Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko, Mount Fuji. 3. Recommended bicycle rental for cycling. 4. Route 1: Four exclusive viewpoints on the Kawaguchiko cycling route. 5. Route 2: Internet-famous street photos and Arakurayama Asami Park.
Travel Information Hotel Index Strategy Index Ticket Index Website Navigation Travel Index Cruise Index Corporate Travel Index Franchise Cooperation Distribution Alliance Friendship Links Corporate Gift Card Purchase Insurance Agency Agency Cooperation Hotel Alliance Destination and Scenic Area Cooperation More Cooperation About Ctrip About Ctrip Ctrip Hotspots Contact Us Careers User Agreement Privacy Policy Security Center Ctrip Content Center Intellectual Property Trip.com Group Algorithm Publicity
