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Mount Fuji & Kawaguchiko
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Mount Fuji & Kawaguchiko

Fuji Across the Lake, and the Summit in Summer

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2 daysIdeal stay₹6,660From / night₹2,120Food / day₹610Entry

Lake Kawaguchi, the most visited of the Fuji Five Lakes, sits at the mountain's northern foot two hours from Shinjuku: the five-storey Chureito Pagoda with Fuji behind it, lakeside parks, lava caves and the Fuji-Q Highland rides. Fuji is clearest from late autumn to winter and often hidden in summer haze. The summit trails open only from early July to 10 September, with a ¥4,000 climbing fee and a booking on the Yoshida trail.

Highlights

  • Chureito Pagoda with Fuji behind
  • Fuji reflected in Lake Kawaguchi
  • Oishi Park's lakeside flowers
  • Kachi Kachi Ropeway viewpoint
  • Fuji Shibazakura moss-phlox festival (April–May)
  • Narusawa Ice Cave and Fugaku Wind Cave
  • Oshino Hakkai spring ponds
  • Fuji-Q Highland roller coasters
  • Climbing Fuji overnight for sunrise (July–September)
  • Hoto noodles

Things to do

  • Chureito Pagoda at sunriseMorning · 2h
  • Lake Kawaguchi & Oishi ParkAfternoon · 2h
  • Kachi Kachi RopewayAfternoon · 1h 30m
  • Narusawa Ice Cave & Fugaku Wind CaveMorning · 2h 30m
  • Oshino Hakkai spring villageAfternoon · 1h 30m
  • Fuji-Q HighlandAny time · 5h

Tours & tickets

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When to go

Best time: October – February (views); July – September (climbing)

Heads up

Mount Fuji Summit Trails Closed

Mount Fuji can be climbed only in the summer season, from early July (1 July on the Yoshida trail) to 10 September. The rest of the year the summit trails are closed, the huts shut, and climbing is dangerous (snow, ice, high winds). Kawaguchiko and the lakes are open all year, with the clearest views of Fuji from late autumn to winter.

Heads up

Fuji Climbing Season: Fee and Booking

Climbing season (early July to 10 September): each climber pays ¥4,000, the Yoshida trail needs an online booking, and those without a mountain-hut booking may not start from the 5th Station between 14:00 and 03:00. Huts sell out weeks ahead; Fuji is often hidden in cloud from below in these months.

Heads up

Golden Week Crowds (29 April – 5 May)

Golden Week is a run of national holidays from 29 April to 5 May: shinkansen and domestic flights sell out, hotels raise prices, and sights are packed. Book transport and rooms early, or plan around those dates.

Heads up

Obon Holiday Rush (mid-August)

Around 13–16 August Japan travels home for Obon: trains and flights are full (Nozomi trains ran reserved seats only at Obon 2026), and resort hotels charge peak rates. Reserve seats for every long journey that week.

Heads up

Rainy Season (Tsuyu)

From early June to mid or late July it rains most days, often all day, on Honshu and Kyushu: carry an umbrella, keep outdoor plans flexible, and expect landslide warnings to close mountain roads and some railways after heavy downpours. Hydrangeas are in flower and the crowds are thinner.

Heads up

Typhoon Season

Typhoons reach Kyushu and Honshu from August to October, worst in September. A direct hit stops shinkansen, flights and ferries for a day and closes sights; most pass within 24-48 hours. Check forecasts in the days before travel and keep a spare day before an international flight.

  • Cherry blossom (hanami) — Cherry trees flower for about a week, from late March in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka to mid-April in the Alps towns and late April in Sendai; Okinawa's come in January and Hokkaido's in early May. Parks fill with picnics under the trees. It is the dearest and most crowded time of year: book hotels four to six months ahead, and expect Kyoto rooms at two or three times the usual price.
  • Autumn leaves (koyo) — The maples turn red from late September in Hokkaido, through October in Nikko and the Alps, to mid-November to early December in Kyoto, Nara and Tokyo. Kyoto's temples open at night with lit-up gardens; trains, buses and hotels are as full as in cherry-blossom season.
  • Golden Week — Four public holidays in a week, when much of Japan travels: shinkansen and domestic flights sell out, hotel prices rise, and sights are packed. Avoid travelling between cities on the first and last days.
  • Obon — The festival of the ancestors, around 13-16 August: families travel home, shinkansen and flights sell out (Nozomi trains ran reserved seats only at Obon 2026), and there are Bon dances and lantern floats in towns across Japan.
  • New Year (Shogatsu) · 31 Dec — Japan's biggest holiday: temples ring their bells 108 times at midnight on 31 December and millions make the first shrine visit (hatsumode), Meiji Jingu and Fushimi Inari above all. Many museums, restaurants and offices close from about 29 December to 3 January; trains run, but are full around the start and end.
  • Fuji Shibazakura Festival — From mid-April to late May, fields of pink moss phlox flower below Mount Fuji near Lake Motosu, 30 minutes from Kawaguchiko; shuttle buses run from Kawaguchiko station.