Japan: The Majestic Mt. Fuji

Mt. Fuji is one of the world’s most famous mountains. It is not the highest as it only peaks at 3,776 meters. What makes it extraordinary is being snow-capped for most time of the year.

Visiting Mount Fuji is part of our itinerary for our 11-days Japan trip. We don’t want to climb up to the 5^th station of Mt. Fuji; we just want to have a closer view of this famous mountain.

Mt Fuji lies at the boundaries of Shizouka and Yamanashi prefectures. It is surrounded by five lakes: Kawaguchiko, Yamanaka, Sai, Motosu, and Shoji. There is a theme park located at Yamanashi prefecture called Fuji-Q, so we decided to visit this place to have a closer look at Mt. Fuji.

We booked the Highway Bus to Kawaguchiko online to secure seats at the time we want to travel to Yamanashi. Adults cost JPY 1750, while kids’ Neo’s age is free as long as he will not take a seat. Payment was made at Shinjuku Expressway Bus Terminal 4F. The bus left exactly on time and travel time was less than 2 hours.

Even before we entered Kawaguchiko, we already had a wonderful view of Mt. Fuji inside the bus. It was very beautiful.

tokyo-mt-fuji-highway-bus — View of Mt. Fuji inside the Highway Bus.

The bus stopped at Fuji-Q theme park, but we decided to alight at Kawaguchiko station to visit Lake Kawaguchiko. Lake Kawaguchiko is 800meters away from Kawaguchiko station.

tokyo-mt-fuji-kawaguchiko — Kawaguchiko Station.

tokyo-mt-fuji-lake-kawaguchiko-3 — Lake Kawaguchiko.

We had a nice time walking to Lake Kawaguchiko and had experience seeing snow for the first time. Not really snowfall, but just snow in our paths – and it was very okay with us since Neo and I are first timers in seeing real snow.

After spending quite some time at Lake Kawaguchiko, we went to Fuji-Q theme park. We rode the Fujikyu Railway from Kawaguchiko station to Fuji-Q costing JPY170. Mt. Fuji is visible in every area of Fuji-Q. But there’s a view deck where you can take nice pictures of Mt. Fuji.

tokyo-mt-fuji-2 — One of Fuji-Q’s attractions with Mt. Fuji on the background.

So if you have a day to spare in Tokyo, I highly suggest you spend it at Kawaguchiko in Yamanashi Prefecture to see Mt. Fuji all in its majestic glory.