Things to do
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Chureito Pagoda
A hillside deck in Fujiyoshida puts a red pagoda, the city's rooftops and Fuji into one view. Go over from the lake on the first clear morning of your stay, because Fuji is hidden by cloud more often than not.
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Kawaguchi Asama Shrine
Through a torii on the hillside above the shrine, you see Fuji framed between its posts on a clear day, one of the best-known photographs of the mountain. The climb to it starts among sacred cedars of great age.
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Lake Kawaguchi
The most accessible of the five lakes at Fuji's northern foot, and the one with the postcard angle: from the north shore the mountain stands square across the water and, on a windless morning, doubles in it. A promenade runs past a lavender park and a maple avenue that turns in November. A ropeway on the east side climbs to a viewing platform in three minutes.
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Mount Fuji
Be on the lake shore early and you see a lone cone rise over the water, with the whole mountain mirrored in the lake on a still morning. It is the postcard view of Japan, and worth setting an alarm for.
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Oishi Park
Flower beds run along the north shore here between the road and the water, with Fuji standing across the lake behind them. Lavender flowers from late June into July, and the round kochia bushes turn red in October. Entry is free, and a stop on the lakeside sightseeing bus is at the park.
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Oshino Hakkai
Eight spring-fed ponds in a farming village, filled by Fuji snowmelt that has filtered for years through the lava, and clear enough to show trout several metres down. Thatched houses, waterwheels and stalls selling grilled rice cakes stand around them. Tour coaches arrive from late morning, so the early hours are calmest, and signs ask visitors not to throw coins in.
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Fugaku Wind Cave
A lava tube in the forest below Fuji that stays cool all year, once used to store silkworm eggs. A short lit route leads down past lava formations and stacked blocks of ice. The Green line bus stops at the entrance, and a marked path through the mossy Aokigahara forest continues to the Narusawa Ice Cave in about half an hour.
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Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
Kimono dyed by the textile artist Itchiku Kubota hang in a timber and stone hall at the forest edge above the north shore, laid out so their landscapes run from one robe into the next. A garden path and a teahouse surround the building. It is the obvious choice for a morning when cloud hides the mountain.
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Kitaguchi Hongū Fuji Sengen Shrine
A long avenue of stone lanterns and cedars leads to one of the largest wooden torii in Japan, and two cedars in the courtyard are reckoned about a thousand years old. The shrine is in Fujiyoshida, and the old Yoshida trail starts behind its main hall: walking it to the Fifth Station, where most climbers begin, takes most of a day. Entry to the grounds is free.
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Lake Motosu
Westernmost of the Fuji Five Lakes and the deepest, with water clear enough to see a long way down from the shore. Fuji seen across it from the northwest shore is the view long printed on the back of a Japanese banknote. Blue line buses run out from Kawaguchiko Station only every hour or two, so plan the return before setting off.
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Lake Saiko
Forest comes down to the water on this smaller lake west of Kawaguchi, and only a few lodges and campsites stand on its shore. Kayak and canoe hire runs along the north side, and the thatched village of Nenba sits at its western end. The Green line bus from Kawaguchiko Station runs out to it every half hour.
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Momiji Corridor
A short avenue of maple trees on the north shore, close to the kimono museum. In November the leaves turn red, food stalls line the path for the town's autumn leaves festival, and the trees are lit after sunset until late evening. Outside autumn it is a quiet green walk of a few minutes.
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Mount Ashiwada
A forested hill between Lake Kawaguchi and Lake Saiko, mostly an easy walk, with a few steep sections on the way down that have ropes to hold. The Sankodai lookout faces across Lake Saiko and the Aokigahara forest to Fuji, and a wooden tower on the summit looks over the lakes to the mountain. Allow a half day, with bus stops at both ends of the route.
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Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway
A three-minute cable car lifts riders from the east shore of Lake Kawaguchi to a deck on Mount Tenjo, about 240 metres above the water. On a clear morning Fuji fills the view to the south, with the whole lake and the town spread below. A footpath also leads back down to the shore for walkers.
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Narusawa Ice Cave
A vertical lava cave where ice columns build up through winter and last well into summer. The route drops through a passage low enough to need a crouch, then opens onto walls of ice. Walking in from the Fugaku Wind Cave on the forest path, over moss and old lava, is the best way to arrive.
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Saiko Iyashi-no-Sato Nenba
Thatched farmhouses line a slope above Lake Saiko, rebuilt after a landslide swept away the original hamlet. Inside them are craft workshops, small museums and shops, and Fuji rises over the rooftops on a clear day. Tour groups arrive from mid-morning, and the Green line bus from Kawaguchiko Station stops at the gate.
