Private Mt.Fuji only for your group, starts/ends at Tokyo. Basic plan takes Express Train from Shinjuku to Kawaguchi-ko (one of the Fuji 5 Lakes) . Transportation options are available such as Express bus and Hired cars/vans on your preferences. My tour is flexible. Feel free to ask me the spots you like to visit. The transportation at the destination is not as good as cities. You might need some support to move smoothly.
At your hotel in Tokyo 23 wards or Shinjuku Station
I'll meet you at your hotel in Tokyo 23 wards. Or, Shinjuku Station to take an express train to Mt.fuji area. Following itinerary is【Basic Plan by Fuji Kaiyu Express Train】. Train is much preferable as infection control measures, also to avoid delay caused by traffic jam.
8:30 Shinjuku - 10:25 Kawaguchiko
FUJI KAIYUU (富士回遊 or FUJI EXCURSION) is all reserved seat Ltd Exp. train to Kawaguchi-ko Lake, which is one of the 5 Lakes of Mt.Fuji. Make sure you book this tour with enough time for me to book seats for this train, because very popular due to its limitation. If train tickets are not available in advance, we go for an express bus.
Walk 15min to Kawaguchi-ko lake shore, or take a taxi (5min).
Spot 1 - Mt.Fuji Panoramic Ropeway (3min to mountain top by ropeway)
Spot 2 - Kawaguchi-ko Boat cruise (20min)
Spot 3 - Oishi Park (Mt.Fuji view on the lake with seasonal flowers) & Hana Terrace (Many shops of sweet treats and souvenir made in Yamanashi, and Japanese crafts in the area full of plants and flowers.)
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We can enjoy lunch around the Lake area. My best recommendation is Hoto noodle, local speciality here. Thick wheat noodle with lots of vegetables in miso flavored soup.
Very popular in cherry blossom seasons. We walk up 398 steps to observatory. Photogenic view of whole Mt.Fuji with red five-story pagoda. If you choose this spot as an option, we can cut Mt.Fuji Panoramic Ropeway's observatory.
・Saiko Iyashi-no-sato NENBA - a folk village facility with the site of old style thatched roof houses and traditional craft shops.
・Ice cave or Wind Cave + short Aokigahara forest trekking
We need to hire a taxi for Saiko area, since it's far and public transportation takes too long and not frequent. 3H hired taxi will cost up to 4 people : about 20,000 yen, up to 9 people : about 23,000 yen
8 sacred ponds originate from snow melt water from Mt.Fuji. Used to be purification place for Mt.Fuji worshippers before climbing. We take a taxi to move from Oshino Hakkai to Kawaguchi-ko Lake shore (about 25min, 5,000yen)
・Available only when Fuji Subaru Line (toll road) is open. Generally from the end of April or the beginning of May to autumn every year. Not available in winter season.
・ If take a local bus from Kawaguchi-ko station, takes about 1H.
→Return : Adult 2,300yen, Child 1,150 yen (One way : Adult 1,540 yen, Child 770 yen )
・If take a taxi from Kawaguchi-ko station,
→Hired taxi (3H) : 7,020 yen×3h＝21,060 yen＋Toll Fee 2,100 yen＝23,160 yen
・If take Direct Bus to 5th station from Shinjuku, (only July & August）(adult 2,950 yen, child 1,480 yen/ one way)
07:55 Shinjuku → 09:40 Kawaguchiko → 10:30 5th station（2H35min)
09:05 Shinjuku → 10:50 Kawaguchiko → 11:40 5th station（2H35min)
We take either of below train upon your request.
・16:51 Kawaguchi-ko - 18:43 Shinjuku
(・17:36 Kawaguchi-ko - 19:27 Shinjuku )
I'll take you back to your hotel in Tokyo, or we can end at Shinjuku Station for your dinner afterwards.
We can end the tour at your accommodation in Mt.Fuji area if you like. Let me know.
At your hotel in Tokyo 23 wards or Shinjuku Station
guide fee, hotel pick-up, hotel drop-off
transportation fee (you and guide), food and drink (you and guide), entrance fee (you and guide)
Admission : Kawaguchiko Boat & Ropeway Set Ticket - Adult : 1,600 yen, Child : 800 yen
(optional admissions) Mentioned on above itinerary.
[ Major transportation fees on tour day ]
【 Basic Plan by Fuji Kaiyu Train 】
Adult : 4,130 × round trip = 8,260 yen
Child : 2,170 × round trip = 4,340 yen
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【 If Express bus Plan 】
Adult : 2,000 × round trip = 4,000 yen
Child : 1,000 × round trip = 2,000 yen
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【 Private Car from/to Tokyo 】
I'm happy to do this tour by a hired car you arranged at your end.
This tour is only available on Weekdays to escape from congestion in Mt.Fuji area.
・Be noted it takes at least 1H30min one way to get the Mt.Fuji area, and traffic congestions might affect our itinerary.
・Visibility of Mt. Fuji is highly dependent on the weather.
●In the case of the rain.
We can enjoy some indoor museums and activities as your preferences.
Example alternatives in rain
・Fujisan World Heritage Center（Free of charge)
・ITCHIKU KUBOTA ART MUSEUM (kimono fabric) (adult 1,300 yen, college & high school 900 yen, junior & elementary 400 yen)
・FUJIYAMA MUSEUM（Art related to Mt.Fuji) adult : 1,000 yen, college : 800 yen, high school : 600 yen, junior 500 yen, under 12 : free
・Ice Cave / Wind Cave （adult : 350 yen, child 200 yen)
・Kawaguchiko Craft Park
・Hot spring experience
Visibility of Mt.Fuji is highly dependent on the weather and the season.
- Visibility throughout the year is about 40% for completely and 58% for partly according to research.
- Visibility is higher in the mooring than in the afternoon, as fog comes out as the temperature goes up.
- Visibility is higher in winter than in summer as the air is clearer.
- The best visibility : October〜February. The least : June〜August.
Hakone and Kawaguchi-ko Lake are both nice Mt.Fuji viewing spots. If you want to see big Mt.Fuji, I recommend Kawaguchi-ko Lake, cause it's nearer and bigger, just on the foot of Mt.Fuji. Also if you want to shoot lake reflections of Mt.Fuji, the Fuji Five Lakes is place to go.
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From Hakone, you can enjoy Mt.Fuji view if weather permits, but smaller than one from Kawaguchi-ko Lake. You can enjoy unique volcanic site of Owakudani and deep mountain nature with famous hot springs. Transportations around Hakone such as ropeways, cable cars, mountain trains are fun to experience.
Basically Hakone and Kawaguchi-ko sightseeing takes a day trip each. The distance between them is about 50km, but takes more than you expect, because Hakone is very mountainous area, then roads are narrow and often has traffic congestions. So, doing both in a day is not recommended, but it's possible if you take a hired taxi or van for a whole day from/to Tokyo.
It’s possible but it’s not so common because it’s not too convenient from the view of time, frequency and fee. JR doesn’t reach to Mt. Fuji area, then you need to pay for additional fare even when you have JR-pass.
(1) If take regular trains,
You need to transfer trains. About 2h30min to get to Kawaguchi-ko station.
・Take JR to Otsuki (free for you with JR-Pass , ¥1,320 for guide / one way）
・Change train to Fujisan station by Fujikyu Railway Line. (¥1,020 per person/one way) JR-Pass is NOT available for Fujikyu Line.
We cannot be sure if we can get seats. Therefore, regular trains are not so recommended.
(2) If takes Limited Express “Fuji-Kaiyu” (all reserved-seat express),
It takes about 1h52m direct to Shinjuku. However this Express train is so popular that better to have advanced booking. ¥4,060 for guide, ¥1,020 per person with JR-pass /one way
(3) Shinkansen with JR-Pass？
Shinkansen reaches to Shin-Fuji station, different side of Mt.Fuji (Shizuoka prefecture). They don’t have as much public transportations for tourists as Kawaguchi-ko Lake side (Yamanashi prefecture). It takes longer time to get to foot of Mt.Fuji and local bus fare is also higher than Kawaguchiko side.
Take Shinkansen Bullet train from Tokyo station to Shin-Fuji (free for you with JR-Pass , 5,070 yen for guide /one way）
Take a Tozan (mountain) Bus to Fujinomiya 5th station＊ (about 2h) 3,100 yen (return) per person ＊Fujinomiya 5th station is different from Yoshida 5th station.
With above inconveniences with trains, Express bus is the most common for Mt.Fuji from Tokyo as the cheapest and convenient. But Limited Express Fuji-kaiyu is effective to avoid delays due to traffic congestions if we can make a booking.
There are some so-called "5th stations" of Mt.Fuji. For visitors from Tokyo area, it bascically means "Yoshida 5th station of Fuji Subaru Line".
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All 5th stations can be reached only when roads are not closed due to snow. Generally speaking, roads to 5th stations are available from the end of April or the beginning of May to autumn every year. Not available in winter.
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From winter to early spring, we can reach some point of Mt.Fuji such as 1st station and 4th station, depends on the snow conditions. Please note the area we can reach is still surrounded by snow until late spring.
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For summer, we can enjoy hiking around Yoshida 5th station.
Fuji Shiba-Sakura Festival 2022 is already finished. From Tokyo, we have some choices for transportations to get to the festival site. Site is located in the western part of Fuji Five Lakes. It takes about 40 min from Kawaguchi-ko Lake by bus or taxi. The peak of Sheba-Sakura (all pink as same as photogenic posters) is generally from the end of April or the beginning of May to the middle of May.
Kaori San is super reliable, punctual, responsive and knowledgeable guide. But the most important- she is a wonderful and caring person. We had fantastic experience with her today. I highly recommend her! Thank you again, Kaori San!
Let me give you a big THANK YOU, Tetyana-san, you took time to write a warmest review for me just after the tour. But the most important, thank you for treating me as a part of your family today. Now I've got a new friend of mine, a funny face Totoro at my desk by your happy surprise! Every time I see my Totoro, I’ll remind of time with your family. So happy to be a tour guide. Hope to see you again for maybe Yanaka adventure! Hugs and kisses, Kaori
Kaori was a wonderful tour guide! She went above and beyond to understand what our interests were and then designed a tour specifically tailored to us. The time with her flew by! Our tour was an incredible mix of history, culture, and anime! Her kindness, warmth, and professionalism made our first day in Tokyo very special. Highly recommend!!
Thank you for giving me an excellent review, Michelle-san! I was so happy to be with you and your cute boy for a day in Asakusa and Akihabara for anime and gaming culture! Was so fun to chat with Leo-kun about favorite anime and character. Of course with you about culture and history too! Hope to see you again next time also with your busy husband! Hugs and kisses, Kaori
We enjoyed our day very much. Got to visit a range of places but the best thing was, we learnt a lot about Japanese culture which we loved.
Thank you Susan-san for giving an excellent review just after the tour! It was so fun for me to talk with each of your family. Yes, we have learnt a lot each other, but also had a great laugh all the day. Happy to hear Japan is now No.1 popular destination from Australia!! I hope we have another adventure together on your next trip, maybe for off-the-beaten next time! Enjoy the rest of your stay! Hugs and kisses, Kaori
My energetic family requested a custom tour to authentic local festivals and flea markets and around the busiest, most intimidating parts of Tokyo, Shibuya and Shinjuku. Kaori was an amazing and fun tour guide! She knew a lot of information about local events and landmarks, showed us how to get around on the train lines nearest our hotel and provided maps, and even lead us to some special landmarks she knew our group would enjoy. She put together a perfect itinerary and helped us make it in time to see everything we wanted to see and eat all the snacks we wanted. She also has great stories about her own travels. I'm very happy to recommend Kaori!
Hi Angela san, thank you so much for giving such a wonderful review! Also thank you for making a special request to enjoy festivals and flea markets! The complete different atmosphere of two different shinto shrines was so interesting to share with laugh. You and your family are such independent experienced travelers. I’m so happy that you found me and chose me as your guide to experience local life together. As you already know, I love guiding, but more than that, love meeting & talking with people like you from all over the world. Such fun to be a guide in Japan! Hope to meet you again for another local adventure! Hugs and kisses, Kaori