While visiting Tokyo last week, we took a day trip to Mt. Fuji after our trip to Kyoto. There are a number of options for how to complete a visit to Mt. Fuji including bus, train, and private car. Some people just go to Mt. Fuji viewing points in the area while visiting shrines, lakes, and parks while others go up to Fifth Station, which is about 2/3 of the way up Mt. Fuji itself.
We chose to do a private car and driver and focus on Fifth Station with a couple viewing stops afterwards. We don’t tend to like group tours unless there is a real reason or benefit and being on Mt. Fuji seemed more fun than just looking at it. It’s also a bit of a trek from Tokyo and having a private car and driver maximized our time.
We booked through Get Your Guide, which then contracts out to a company who provides the car and driver. He was advertised as being both an English-speaking guide and driver and someone who could provide us with history and context. Unfortunately, he mostly acted as a driver and his English was ok, but not fluent. The description was that we’d plan a custom day together based on his advice and our goals but I ended up having to make all the decisions without having done a ton of research on follow up sites. Luckily I did know that Fifth Station was our top goal.
If I was to redo the trip or recommend it to someone else, I’d suggest significantly more time on Fifth Station and then a stop at Oishi Park if the weather is clear for Mt. Fuji views and a late lunch and home (or lunch before the park). The stop at Lawson was literally a convenient store parking lot that was very popular and talked about, but I’m not sure the appeal. It’s a decent view of the top of Mt. Fuji, but the bottom half of your photo is a parking lot and building. Very packed with buses and tourists!
We also stopped at Oshino Hakkai, which is a traditional village but packed with tourists. We were rushed and it was packed and I wouldn’t recommend the time it took. I’d have rather had more time at 5th Station.
Fifth Station Mt. Fuji
Fifth Station is the highest you can go up Mt. Fuji by road. It is about 2/3 of the way up the mountain and has an entrance cost per vehicle. I believe it was about 2800 yen or perhaps a bit less. It’s a winding mountain road up, with some stops for views and breaks.
Once on Fifth Station, there are a number of options. There are great view points of the valley and lakes, many gift shops, snacks, and ice cream, and a shrine. The kokemomo jam on the vanilla softserve was soooo good! Highly recommend. Make sure to have small bills as it only takes coins and 1000 yen bills.
Hiking to the peak only happens in the summer and closes in September. There were pony rides up the trail a bit for hire if desired. However, we chose to walk Ochudo Trail and it was a great choice!
While we had perfect weather (pants and short sleeves temperatures) with sun and pretty clouds, it can get quite chilly on Mt. Fuji and be about 15-20 degrees F colder than Tokyo and much windier. There was not really wind and Tokyo was warm, which made Mt. Fuji quite pleasant. We had layers and gloves in the car, but didn’t need them.
Ochudo Trail
If you stand looking at the bus drop off, head to the right and the trail entrance is immediately next to the bus drop off at the end of the line of buildings. It has a sign.
The Ochudo Trail is a great walking option because it has very minimal elevation change. It mostly stays at the same elevation as fifth station and walks horizontally along the mountain rather than up it. This gives you the experience of hiking Mt. Fuji and seeing many interesting things without it being a full hike. It is also open much of the year unless snow and weather close Fifth Station (which can happen in the winter).
Along the trail, there was a lot of signage about the plants, rocks, and volcanic activity. We learned about what trees can grow up there, how plant life is returning after Mt. Fuji’s last eruption, the type of volcanic rock on the mountain, the lava flows, and avalanche barriers. It was all really interesting and a great walk.
We walked about 30 minutes out and turned around and walked 30 minutes back. If I had realized how crowded Oshino Hakkai would be, we’d have walked farther and spent more time on Mt. Fuji. Our weather really lucked out being great!
Oishi Park and Lake Kawaguchiko
After winding down Fifth Station, we headed to Oishi Park. It borders Lake Kawaguchiko and has great views of Mt. Fuji when the weather is clear (which it was). Clear views are not guaranteed as Mt. Fuji gets cloud covered frequently.
Oishi Park is unique in that it has TONS of flowers. Even in early October, it was covered in flowers. This led to many, many people taking selfies and photos of themselves and Mt. Fuji. There is a snack and souvenir area, but no restaurant.
It is not so much a park in a traditional sense, as a long, skinny area along the lake covered in flowers and walking paths. Don’t expect much area to spread out a blanket and relax. If the visibility is good, it’s worth a spot. But if it’s not good, don’t bother.
If you’re interested in going out on a boat, there is another part of Lake Kawaguchiko to visit for that. We didn’t do that.
The Drive and Timing
The drive to and from Central Tokyo (by Tokyo Station) took about 2.5 hours each way, though we did a bathroom stop and a viewing stop on the morning drive. Most private drivers are 10-11 hours (ours was luckily 11), so that eats up a decent portion of the sightseeing time.
We arrived at Fifth Station about 9:50 am and left about 11:50 am. Bringing a picnic lunch or doing heavy snacks for lunch up on the mountain would have been delightful.
We were only at Oishi Park about 25-30 minutes for some quick photos given the crowds–perfect temperatures and great mountain views brought everyone out!
We had a great Indian lunch, which ate up time but we can’t turn down good Indian food. I loved that they did lunch combo platters where you got small servings of either 2 meat curries or 3 veg ones. I love having options and the portions were perfect.
We ended up with only about 15 minutes at Oshino Hakkai because of traffic building up for the return to Tokyo.
Getting to and from the Mt Fuji area takes a lot of time. However, it was really fun being on Mt. Fuji and was a highlight for the kids as well. I’d focus on that, rather than trying to hit all the sites and shrines in the area and every view point. Spring has the more classic views with snow tops and cherry blossoms, but also even bigger crowds. Mt. Fuji had no snow as it was just the start of fall and trees were not blooming.
Be wary of tour groups that list a whole range of sites visited or list Fifth Station as optional (and it’s not a private customizable trip). Do Fifth Station first if you plan to, maximize time there, and then pick one or two additional stops with what time remains and if you’re doing a lunch stop.
