Viewing Mt. Fuji from Kawaguchiko | Japan Travels

Mt. Fuji seen from the Kachi-kachi ropeway

My over ambitious friends and I thought we could get to Kawaguchiko by 9:00 am but boy did we only learn we were terrible morning people. And cranky at that. One bathroom – three women, you know how that goes. The horror! Crisp and cool temperatures are usually the best conditions to view Mt. Fuji and on a horrible humid summer the prime time for viewing would have been best early in the morning. Thus the 9:00 am goal... which never happened.

There are many excellent places to view Mt. Fuji and we chose to visit Lake Kawaguchiko of the Five Lakes. To get there we took a JR Train on the Chuo Line from Shinjuku Station to Otsuki Station. From Otsuki Station we took the train to Kawaguchiko Station but that cost us an additional 1,110 yen each as it wasn’t a JR Train.

The 2-hour train ride to Kawaguchiko presented some stunning scenery of rural Japan. As the houses began to wane in number the further we got from Tokyo, the fields and dark green thickets became the lovely backdrop of our trip. Rural Japan was quite mountainous and hilly, and in between were valleys of crop lands. We passed by a number of traditional houses and even a small well-tended grave site.

Cultivated valleys in rural Japan

Traditional Japanese buildings along railway tracks

It wasn’t until we got off at Otsuki Station that I really felt the tranquil environment. Even though the cicadas sung pretty loud, it was a relatively quiet and peaceful place. On a side note: there was a lady station operator who was so delightful to talk to. She was super helpful answering questions about our route and even stood next to us and chatted while we waited for our train.

As our train got closer to Kawaguchiko the majestic shadow of Mt. Fuji loomed over us. It held my attention for a long time, but that was only until we passed by a closed theme park with a gigantic roller coaster with the most scariest fascinating angles you can imagine! When we stopped at a train station next to it, I got to see it up close. I saw how it twisted and looped in the most terrifying angles I have ever seen. Ok, I like thrill but that was designed to torment a person for the rest of their life. That was so hardcore Japanese styles. Now I see first-hand why Japanese roller coasters are infamous for being freakeh. Here is their equally crazy promo poster:

For reals?

Yeah, it's not too far from the truth. You'll be in heaven for a few seconds I guarantee it! So we arrived at our destination around midday (so much for trying to make the most out of our day), and we boarded a really funky looking vehicle called the Retro Bus:

The Retro Bus from Lake Kawaguchiko

You can also purchase a Retro Bus Pass if you wish to see the attractions around the Five Lakes for a full day or two. The bus made stops around certain tourists spots on Lake Kawaguchiko and we stopped at the Kachi-kachi Ropeway (which was stop 10 – Iriguchi Stop). We realised we didn’t have coins to pay so the bus driver did this cool thing with our note. He fed it through this machine which vomited coins out. Pretty sweet contraption!

The problem came when he asked us to insert our fare into this box that looked like a donation box - that's when we stupidly assumed it was pay by donation. We dropped coins generously and he actually had to grab our hands just to stop us from putting in anymore. The Japanese don’t accept tips so he got pretty annoyed, I think? I wasn’t sure, I didn’t see. We apologized and left quickly. Guh, another Gaijin moment. Learn from our mistakes people! Also, the fare was 400 yen although apparently you can walk to the ropeway from Kawaguchiko Station and it would only take 10 minutes.

The Kachi-kachi ropeway is easily spotted by a stream of cable carts scaling the side of the mountain. The ropeway is kind of steep and kind of scary especially when you get to the top on the unloading dock and find that the only thing protecting you from a huge fall are waist-high railings (image below). You can choose to walk down later if looking down the mountain doesn’t appeal to you. Apparently the trail down is a pleasant walk.

On top of Mt. Kachi-kachi was a gorgeous sweeping panoramic view of Mt Fuji. The only downside to it was the fact it was scorching hot, and not to mention Fuji already covered in clouds by the time we got there (although this didn’t surprise us). Thank goodness for the small convenient store based on Kachi-kachi with the A/C. We couldn't exactly pretend to look at a carton of juice for so long and had to leave after a while, sadly. Other attractions on Mt. Kachi-kachi were a shrine, a zen garden, a walking trail, a view of Lake Kawaguchiko and a photographer who develops Mt. Fuji souvenir photos.

We spent some time up Mt. Kachi-kachi before descending down to take pictures around Lake Kawaguchiko. Around the ropeway there were lots of restaurants and cafes, plenty of souvenir stores and also a ferry terminal where you can take a small cruise on Lake Kawaguchiko. So even though we felt a little disappointed that our plans didn’t go accordingly for that morning/afternoon, there were still plenty of other things to see and do within the ropeway’s vicinity. I do recommend waking up early though, as not only do you get a fantastic view of Mt. Fuji but may also be able to see monkeys perform (which I so wished we did!).


Peaces x :)