How to Travel to Mt Fuji From Tokyo

Our tours in the Mt Fuji and Fuji Five Lakes region normally start at or near Kawaguchiko Station, a bus and train station located in the northern foothills of Mt Fuji about 1.5 to 2 hours from central Tokyo.

There are several ways to make the trip from Tokyo to Kawaguchiko Station. If you don’t have much time to plan and make arrangements in advance, you should make the trip using method 1 or 2 below. If you do have time, you may be able to reduce the duration, cost and complexity of the trip by using method 3 or 4 below.

Use Google Maps to display an itinerary for travel from your nearest train station in Tokyo to Kawaguchiko Station at the time you wish to make the trip. Show the itinerary to a ticket agent at the station in Tokyo and ask to buy tickets, or show your Japan Rail Pass at the ticket gate.

Best method to use if you…

• have no time or desire to plan and make arrangements for the trip in advance.
• want to show up at a train station any time of day and buy a ticket on the spot for the next train headed toward Mt Fuji.

Pros:

• No advance ticket purchases or planning needed.
• Never sold out. You can still take local trains when all express buses and trains are sold out.
• Wide range of departure times available.
• Sometimes almost as fast as express trains and buses.
• Trains rarely experience significant delays.
• Inexpensive.
• Japan Rail Pass can usually be used to cover the cost of parts of the trip that are on JR train lines.

Cons:

• Often the slowest way to make the trip.
• Usually requires changing trains one or more times during the trip.

Ask your hotel concierge to arrange a taxi for you or search online in English for a taxi service you can reserve. In case the drive takes longer than expected, schedule your departure early enough that you should arrive at least a few hours before your tour.

Best method to use if you…

• are willing to depart Tokyo early enough that you should arrive at Kawaguchiko Station at least several hours before your tour so unexpected road delays won’t make you late.
• don’t mind paying more than is necessary to make the trip.
• don’t want to use public transportation.

Pros:

• Simple. No need to make sense of an unfamiliar public transportation itinerary or find your way around a large station in Tokyo.
• Little planning and preparation needed. Your hotel concierge may be able to make the taxi reservation for you.
• English-speaking taxi services can be booked online.
• Private and quiet travel experience.
• Flexible. Depart and make stops where and when you wish.
• Fastest way to make the trip, if traffic conditions happen to be favorable. Can take as little as 90 minutes.
• May not be much more expensive than public transportation if the taxi fare is shared by a number of passengers.

Cons:

• Is often by far the most expensive way to make the trip.
• Road delays due to construction, accidents and traffic volume sometimes unexpectedly lengthen the trip by hours. This can cause you to miss part of your tour time unless you depart very early.
• Can have a large greenhouse gas footprint compared to other travel methods.

Read about the Fuji Excursion express train and select your desired travel time here. Then buy tickets online here or in person at a JR train station. Your desired train departure time could sell out days or weeks in advance, even in the off season, so you should buy tickets as early as possible.

Best method to use if you…

• have time to plan the trip days or weeks in advance.
• will try to buy tickets as far before your travel date as possible to improve your chance of getting seats.
• want to arrive at Kawaguchiko Station at 9:30 am or later, since this is when the earliest train arrives.

Pros:

• Simple. No need to change trains during the trip.
• Trains rarely experience significant delays.
• Tickets can be purchased online or in person at a JR station.
• If you have a Japan Rail Pass, you can usually use it to pay for part of the trip, making this an inexpensive travel method.

Cons:

• Tickets often sell out long before the travel date.
• Limited departure and return times. Only three trains make the trip each day.
• Two types of tickets (fare ticket and limited express ticket with reserved or unreserved seating designation) must be purchased to ride the train, potentially causing confusion for travelers unfamiliar with this system.

See express bus schedules and buy tickets at any of the following four websites. Your desired bus departure time could sell out days or weeks in advance, even in the off season, so you should buy tickets as early as possible. The sites below generally only sell tickets for dates no more than a month away. In case the trip takes longer than usual, buy tickets for a bus that should arrive at least a few hours before your tour.

• Keio Dentetsu Bus
• Tokyo Fuji Five Lakes Liner
• Willer Express
• Highway Bus

Best method to use if you…

• are willing to depart Tokyo early enough that you should arrive at Kawaguchiko Station at least several hours before your tour so unexpected road delays won’t make you late.
• have time to plan the trip days or weeks in advance.
• will try to buy tickets as far before your travel date as possible to improve your chance of getting seats.
• want to arrive at 8:45 am or later, since this is when the earliest bus arrives.

Pros:

• Inexpensive.
• Simple. No need to change buses during the trip.

Cons:

• Road delays due to construction, accidents and traffic volume sometimes unexpectedly lengthen the trip by hours. This can cause you to miss part of your tour time unless you take a bus scheduled to arrive long before your tour.
• Tickets often sell out long before the travel date.