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Tokyo is the gate to Japan and a really great city where you won’t get bored independent of how long you stay there. But of course when you visit Japan, then you want to see more of the country than just its capital. Our recommendation also for first-timers is to visit Fujikawaguchiko at the Kawaguchi lake in front of the Mount Fuji. You can not say that you were in Japan, if you didn’t see the Fuji-san😊
For us, after staying in a mega city and doing a lot of sightseeing, its clear that we need to go somewhere with more nature and more relaxed atmosphere. After Tokyo you could stay in the area, e.g. visit Saitama and the official Totoro Forest (see this great post by Matcha-jp). Or you could go north of Tokyo e.g. to Nikko National Park with lakes, waterfalls, shrines and Onsen. What you definitely should not do, is go directly to the next mega city like Osaka. In general also for first-timers in Japan don’t only do the classic triangle that many bloggers recommend: Tokyo – Osaka – Kyoto. City, city and city. There is so much more to Japan, especially the more traditional, more relaxed places surrounded by beautiful nature.
How to visit Fujikawaguchiko?
You can get there easily by Bus from the Shinjuku Station in 2h. This works very well, and yes – Shinjuku Station is the world’s busiest train station (guinness world record). However, it is not nearly as bad to get around there as many Instagram posts suggest😄 We recommend to book the bus in advance to be on the safe side and select your seats: highway-buses.jp. This can be done 4 weeks in advance, but you need to register.
You can always consider to send your luggage in advance from your hotel to your next accommodation. Especially, when you travel with multiple means of transportation and have a lot of luggage. The hotels or ryokans usually call your destination and the transport service for you. We used the Yamato service for that several times. They always said that it may take one more day and we should pack an outfit more. In the end Yamato beat us every time and our luggage arrived at our destination before we did. This service is another thing that makes traveling in Japan really special.
Where to stay when you visit Fujikawaguchiko?
There are plenty of nice Onsen hotels at the lakeshore, like the Fuji Lake Hotel. It is a little pricy, but has a 4.4/5 rating on klook.com and provides a public indoor & outdoor onsen. You can also book rooms with its own private onsen with either lake or Fuji view. They have a praised buffet and also offer dinner with a variety of traditional food. Unfortunately, it is often booked out, but there is also a quite similar hotel, the Kawaguchiko Hotel. The highlight here is the Onsen with Fuji-view, and it is also cheaper.
What to do when you visit Fujikawaguchiko?
Besides the famous Lawson😉, Fujikawaguchiko has a lot offer. The majestic Fuji views alone make it worth it to visit Fujikawaguchiko. You will have a lot of them when you cycle around lake Kawaguchi. Fujikawaguchiko is great for relaxing and being active, but it also has really good restaurants. Exquisite sushi, delicious tempura, great ramen and awesome pancakes.
From Kawaguchiko you can visit the famous Arakurayama Sengen Park for its shrines and spiritual atmosphere or for idyllic hiking in the mountains, it‘s only 15min by train. In the shrine area you can also buy delicious fruits or ice cream.
Fuji-Q Highland Park
Alternatively, if you want a little bit more action, then you can visit the Fuji-Q Highland Park. It has record-breaking roller coasters and a nice Naruto Theme village. What is especially cool about the park is that you don’t have to pay for the entry. This is really amazing and again one good example why Japanese people know how to do it right. You can buy admissions tickets also on klook – Fuji-Q Highland Park tickets.
You can enjoy all the themes and restaurants without paying for the entrance and accompany your children for free when you don’t want to ride anything. There are day-passes and such, but you can also pay per ride. For the day passes they take a photo of you at the entrance which is stored in their system, so they check against your photo when you want to enter a ride. I wish every theme park would operate like this.
Where else to stay when you visit Fujikawaguchiko?
Anyways, about where to stay in Fujikawaguchiko. If you prefer to stay at a more traditional accommodation which would also be a cheaper option compared to the lakeside Onsen hotels mentioned above, then we recommend you from personal experience the Hostel K‘s House Fuji View which also has a great rating on klook.com and other booking platforms. It is a very nice and clean (without a doubt in Japan) hostel where you can book your own room with Fuji view. It has a 360 degree rooftop terrace to enjoy the view as well. The rooms are traditional with Tatami mattresses and Futon beds.
If you need tips on how to get to your next location from Fujikawaguchiko, e.g. to Kyoto, leave a comment below.
Arigato gozaimasu for reading。
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Ghibli-style photo of blog post title
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