Kawaguchiko (Fuji Five Lakes)

Chubu, Japan · Lake, Mountain

The Fuji Five Lakes area, with the mountain's most iconic views: Lake Kawaguchiko, Chureito Pagoda rising above Mt. Fuji, the pond village of Oshino Hakkai, and ryokan with hot springs facing the mountain directly.

The essentials

Getting there

Train — The tourist-oriented 'Fuji Excursion' limited express runs as a direct service from Shinjuku (no physical transfer, though it changes operator mid-route): JR Chuo Line to Otsuki, then the private Fujikyuko Line to Kawaguchiko, ~114min, ¥4,130 single ticket. The JR segment (Shinjuku-Otsuki) is covered by the Japan Rail Pass; the final Fujikyuko segment (Otsuki-Kawaguchiko, 26.6km) is a private railway requiring a separate supplement (~¥1,570) even with a pass. Cheaper alternative without a pass: direct highway bus from Shinjuku, ~2h, ¥2,200-2,300.

Frequently asked questions about Kawaguchiko (Fuji Five Lakes)

What to do in Kawaguchiko (Fuji Five Lakes): 23 activities

• Chureito Pagoda 1.5 h must-see

  The most photographed image of Mt. Fuji: a red five-story pagoda framing the mountain in the background, after climbing about 400 steps from Arakura Sengen Shrine.

• Climbing Mount Fuji by the Yoshida route 12 h booking

  The most used route starts at the fifth station, reached by bus from the lake. Season from early July to early September, with new rules since 2025: a 4,000 yen fee, compulsory online booking, a cap of 4,000 people a day, the gate closed from 14:00 to 3:00 unless you have a hut booked, and checks on footwear and warm clothing. Climbing overnight without sleeping in a hut is discouraged.

• Fuji-Q Highland 6 h

  An amusement park with several roller coasters that have held world records, plus a Thomas children's area and another devoted to Naruto; entry is free and you pay per ride or with a pass.

• Hoto, the wide-noodle hotpot of Fuji 1 h

  Yamanashi's dish: a miso hotpot with kabocha squash, root vegetables and a flat wheat noodle a centimetre wide. The difference from udon is technical and it explains the whole dish: hoto dough has no salt, and because it has no salt there is no need to boil it separately to wash the salt out, so the noodle goes into the pot raw with its dusting flour still on it. That flour cooks into the broth and thickens it — the dense broth is not an addition, it is the consequence. It is on the hundred rural dishes the agriculture ministry selected in 2007, alongside Yoshida udon, which comes from the same area and is a different thing altogether: that one is salted, boiled separately and comes out extremely firm. It is eaten all year and more in winter, because the thick broth holds the heat. In Kawaguchiko a pot runs about 1,320-1,850 yen depending on the house. The idea that Takeda Shingen invented it as field rations is legend: the prefectural library calls it exactly that, and the dish is only documented as a Kai speciality from the Edo period, centuries after his death.

• Ice cave and wind cave 2.5 h

  Two lava tubes from Fuji itself that you walk through inside (one holds ice all year, the other a constant cold draught), linked by an official walkway that crosses the lava forest.

• Itchiku Kubota Art Museum 1.5 h

  Kimono dyed with a 16th-century technique recovered by the artist, hung in series so that together they form a continuous landscape of mountains and seasons, in a coral stone building surrounded by garden.

• Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen shrine 1.5 h

  An avenue of giant cedars leading to the torii where the climb up Fuji traditionally begins: pilgrims to the volcano purified themselves here before setting off.

• Lake Kawaguchiko walk and cruise 2 h

  The most accessible of the Fuji Five Lakes, with a short scenic cruise and several viewpoints along the north shore where the mountain reflects in the water on clear days.

• The other four lakes 4 h

  Motosu gives the view of Fuji that appears on the 1,000 yen note, Shoji is the smallest and quietest, Yamanaka the largest and with perfect reflections, and Sai the most wooded.

• Yoshida Fire Festival 3 h only 26-27 Aug

  On 26 and 27 August some 70 torches three metres tall are lit along the main street to close the climbing season; it is counted among the three most unusual festivals in Japan.

• Yoshida udon 1 h

  Extremely hard, very chewy noodles, served with cabbage and horse meat, in houses that open their own living room at midday and take cash only.

• Around the lake by bike, kayak and SUP 3 h

  About 18 flat kilometres around the lake, with rental next to the station, and kayak or paddle board outings with the volcano behind.

• Fujiyoshida, textile town 2 h

  A thousand years of weaving silk at the foot of the volcano, with looms producing the finest jacquard; there is a factory shop, workshop visits and a textile festival in autumn.

• Honcho street in Fujiyoshida 1 h

  A street of retro facades with Fuji framed at the end, the most repeated image in the area. Be aware that some nearby photo spots are signposted or fenced off because of overcrowding problems: photograph from where the town hall indicates and do not block pavements or businesses.

• Lavender and flowers at Oishi park 1.5 h

  The north shore of the lake fills with lavender in June and July and with red kokia bushes in autumn, always with Fuji in the background.

• Mount Fuji World Heritage Centre 1.5 h

  It explains why Fuji is World Heritage as a sacred site and not as a natural site, with a huge model of the mountain; entry is free.

• Oshi houses, the pilgrims' inns 1.5 h

  Elongated houses that lodged the confraternities who climbed Fuji out of devotion; they are part of the World Heritage listing and in some of them you can still sleep.

• Oshino Hakkai 1.5 h

  A traditional village with eight spring-fed ponds of exceptional clarity, fed by Mt. Fuji's snowmelt, surrounded by thatched-roof houses and local food stalls.

• Ropeway to Mount Tenjo 1.5 h

  Three minutes in a cabin up to a viewpoint with the lake below and Fuji opposite; the place is decorated with the tale of the rabbit and the tanuki, which takes place on this mountain.

• Ryokan with hot spring baths and Fuji views 2 h booking

  Several ryokan in the area have outdoor hot spring baths facing Mt. Fuji directly, one of the most sought-after onsen combinations in all of Japan.

• Shibazakura festival and maple corridor 2.5 h only mid-April to late May and autumn

  From mid-April to late May, whole slopes of pink moss phlox with the volcano behind; in November, a lit maple corridor beside the lake.

• Mount Fuji Radar Dome Museum 1.5 h

  The weather radar that stood on the summit of Fuji for 35 years from 1964, brought down and turned into a museum, with a cold chamber that simulates the cold of the summit.

• Music Forest 2 h

  A collection of European automatic and dance organs, including an orchestrion from the Titanic era, in a rose garden with Fuji behind.

What only happens on specific dates

• Shibazakura festival and maple corridor mid-April to late May and autumn
• Yoshida Fire Festival 26-27 Aug

Chains well with

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