Must-see attractions · Mount Fuji and Kawaguchiko
10 attractions with a verified description
Fujiyoshida · Free
The photo of Japan: a red pagoda, the town and Fuji in the background. Free, after 398 steps from Arakurayama Sengen Park. Fujikyu train to Shimo-Yoshida Station. In April cherry blossoms, and in November autumn foliage, and then there is a line for the photo.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Dang Son / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)
Kawaguchiko · Free
The most accessible of the Fuji Five Lakes, with a promenade, swan boats (¥2,000 for 30 minutes) and a 20-minute cruise (¥1,000). Free to walk around. The mountain is visible in the morning and is covered by clouds in the afternoon.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: dconvertini / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Kawaguchiko · Free
The northern shore of the lake: lavender in June and July, red kochia in October, and Fuji rising straight from the water. Free. A shop with lavender ice cream and Yamanashi fruit, and this is the classic photo spot of the lake.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Alpsdake / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Oshino · Free
Eight wonderfully clear ponds, formed from the snowmelt of Fuji that was filtered for 80 years through the layers of lava. Seven of the ponds are free, and the eighth (Sokonuke) is inside the grounds of a paid museum, ¥300. A small village with thatched houses and food stalls, and Fuji behind. Full at midday, empty at 08:00.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: 名古屋太郎 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Fujiyoshida · Free
The park where the Chureito Pagoda stands, on a slope above Fujiyoshida. Free, always open. 398 steps or a winding path, and about 650 cherry trees that bloom in mid-April.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Otto Domes / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Saiko · Free
The quietest of the five lakes, with no big hotels: a restored village of thatched houses (Iyashi no Sato), caves, and cycling routes. Free. Anyone who wants Fuji without buses comes here.
Price checked September 2026
Photo: Osumi Akari / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Kawaguchiko · Ropeway
A three-minute ropeway to a viewpoint at 1,075 meters, with Fuji on one side and the lake on the other. ¥1,700 round trip, and the ticket is valid for two days. At the top there is a swing with a view, and figures from the legend of the rabbit and the crocodile. A line on weekends.
Price checked September 2026
Narusawa · Nature
An ice cave from the eruption of 864, where the temperature stays around zero all year and there are pillars of ice. ¥350. You stoop in part of the passage, so it is not for everyone. Helmets on site.
Price checked September 2026
Narusawa · Nature
A wind cave from the same eruption, which was used as a seed store and for raising silkworms thanks to the natural cold. ¥350, and there is a combined ticket with the ice cave. Both are in the Aokigahara forest, within walking distance of each other.
Price checked September 2026
Kawaguchiko · Museum
A museum for the kimono of Itchiku Kubota, who revived a lost dyeing technique from the 16th century: giant kimono that together form one landscape. ¥1,500. The building and the garden themselves, in the style of Gaudi, are worth the entry.
Price checked September 2026
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