Mt. Fuji Private Day Tour from Tokyo

A Mount Fuji day tour from Tokyo covers about 120 kilometres each way, and the stops are spread around the lakes rather than clustered in one town. That is the reason to do it by car. Hotel pickup is included, along with fuel, tolls and parking, and the price is for the whole vehicle rather than each seat, so two people and a family of six pay by the car they choose.

What you see around Mount Fuji

The first stop is Lake Kawaguchi, with an hour by the water. On a still morning the mountain sits in the reflection, which is the photograph most people come for. Next is Arakura Sengen Shrine, where the pagoda stands above the town after a climb of just under four hundred steps, with Fuji behind it. Lunch is houtou noodles at Houtou Fudou in Kawaguchiko, a thick flat noodle in miso broth that is a Yamanashi dish rather than a tourist menu. The afternoon is Oshino Hakkai, eight clear ponds fed by snowmelt off the mountain, then the 5th Station at 2,300 metres, which is as close to the summit as any road goes.

How the day is paced

Pickup is from your hotel or any address inside Tokyo's 23 wards, and the drive out is roughly two hours depending on traffic. Stops run between forty five minutes and an hour, so the day moves without rushing. Weather decides a lot here. Fuji hides behind cloud on plenty of mornings, and your English-speaking guide will reorder the stops to chase the clear window rather than stick to a printed list. The road to the 5th Station closes through winter, so if you are travelling between December and March, ask us what we run instead.

Who this tour suits

Good for photographers, for first visits to Japan, and for anyone who wants the mountain without a bus timetable. It is also the cheapest of our days once you are out of the car, because four of the five stops charge nothing to enter. The steps at Arakura Sengen are the only demanding part and they can be skipped, with the shrine at the bottom still worth the stop. Our drivers hold a Japan Class 2 commercial passenger licence, and your English-speaking guide is the same person driving the car, at no extra charge.

Best time to see Mount Fuji

Winter mornings give the clearest views of the year, with snow on the peak and dry air, which surprises people who assume summer is better. April brings blossom at the pagoda and heavy crowds with it. Late October and November give red maples around the lakes. July and August are the weakest months for views, because haze sits on the mountain even on a sunny day.