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Mount Fuji & Kawaguchiko in May
Mixed month: May is outside the recommended season (October – February (views); July – September (climbing)). Against it: Mount Fuji Summit Trails Closed. Plan around: Golden Week Crowds (29 April – 5 May). Golden Week and Fuji Shibazakura Festival can fall this month.
The season opens in July, 2 months away.
2 days in Mount Fuji & Kawaguchiko in May · from ₹21,507 for two
Stay, food & local travel; getting there extra
Before you book May
Closures, crowds and rules at Mount Fuji & Kawaguchiko this month.
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
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.
What’s on in May
Timing a trip around these changes what you pay and what you can book.
Golden Week2027: 29 Apr–5 May
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.
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.
What it costs
For two sharing a room; 2 days on the ground, getting there not included.
Budget
₹21,507 for two
- Room a night₹6,660
- Food a day, each₹2,756
- Main sight entry, each₹610
Mid-range
₹51,537 for two
- Room a night₹18,150
- Food a day, each₹6,360
- Main sight entry, each₹610
Luxury
₹1,20,819 for two
- Room a night₹45,380
- Food a day, each₹14,840
- Main sight entry, each₹610
What May does to prices
- 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.
- Four public holidays in a week, when much of Japan travels: shinkansen and domestic flights sell out, hotel prices rise, and sights are packed.
Totals cover the room (taxes included), food, local transport, entry and a 10% buffer: the figures the planner opens on. These are typical rates; Tourisma has no month-by-month rates for Japan yet, so they don't move with the month.
Getting there
Fly into Tokyo (HND), 93 km away
Then: Transfer · 2h 12m (Private car, per vehicle)
Flights from India: from 7 cities, one way from ₹22,000
Fly into Tokyo (NRT), 93 km away
Then: Transfer · 2h 12m (Private car, per vehicle)
Flights from India: from 3 cities, one way from ₹31,000
Routes compared
Entry rules
E-visa before you fly for up to 90 days, about ₹1,300
- Book an appointment at the Japan Visa Application Centre (VFS Global) for your area and apply for the single-entry tourist visa, no more than three months before you travel. Walk-ins ended in February 2026. The visa fee is ₹500, plus VFS's service charge of ₹800.
- Apply 3-4 weeks before you fly: processing takes at least 5 working days. The visa comes as an eVISA (an electronic notice), not a sticker; keep it on your phone and as a printout for the airline and immigration.
- Before you fly, fill in Visit Japan Web (vjw.digital.go.jp) for one immigration and customs QR code. It is optional; paper cards are handed out on the plane.
- At immigration, your fingerprints and photo are taken and you are given the stay the visa allows (up to 90 days).
Carry: Passport with at least two blank pages, valid for the whole stay; Visa application form with a 45 x 35 mm photo; Flight booking in and out of Japan; Day-by-day schedule of the stay with hotel bookings; Bank statements for the last 3-6 months and income-tax returns for the last 2-3 years (the VFS centre's checklist says which); Employees: a leave letter or NOC; self-employed: business registration; The eVISA notice, on your phone and printed.
Indians need a visa for Japan, but it is cheap: ₹500, unchanged when Japan raised its visa fees five-fold for most countries in July 2026. JESTA, Japan's planned online travel authorisation, is for visa-free nationalities and is not due before 2028.
Checked 2026-10; confirm with the embassy before you fly.
Elsewhere in Japan in May
Instead in season this month.
- Kamakura · great month
- Koyasan · great month
- Matsumoto · great month
- Sendai & Matsushima · great month
- Nagano (Jigokudani Snow Monkeys) · good month
- Ishigaki · good month
- Beppu · good month
- Fukuoka · good month
Nearby in Tokyo & Kanto:
Want this as a real plan?
Mount Fuji & Kawaguchiko in May, day by day, priced for your group.