chubuyamanashi
Lake Kawaguchiko
The lake town at the northern foot of Mount Fuji, in Yamanashi Prefecture, in the Chubu region, about two hours from Tokyo, is the most visited of the Fuji Five Lakes.
- Prefecture
- Yamanashi
- Region
- Chubu
- Journeys
- Two of our journeys
overview
A lake at the foot of Mount Fuji, and the mountain mirrored in its water.
The lake lies at about 830 metres, the second largest of the five lakes that ring the northern foot of Mount Fuji, and the one with the most to offer a traveller. From its north shore the whole cone of the mountain rises across the water, with nothing in between, and on a still day it is doubled in the lake. The lake town runs along the eastern and southern shores, with onsen, ryokan and museums, and the old forests of the Fuji foothills spread west towards the smaller lakes.
The lake is part of the World Heritage Site of Mount Fuji, inscribed in 2013 as a sacred place and a source of art, and the country around it is the old pilgrim country of the mountain. At Fujiyoshida, next door, the Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine stands at the start of the old Yoshida trail, and some of the lodges of the Edo pilgrim guides still stand on its streets. At Oshino, between the lake and Lake Yamanaka, eight ponds are fed by snowmelt that has filtered through the mountain for decades.
The lake is the place to stay for Mount Fuji: close enough that the mountain fills the view, with ryokan and hotels that turn their rooms and their onsen towards it. The Classic Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan spends two nights in a great garden at Fujiyoshida, at the mountain's northern foot, each room with its own open-air bath with Fuji in view, and Definitive Japan two nights beneath the mountain, so that every evening ends with Mount Fuji in view.
see and do
What to see at Lake Kawaguchiko
The north shore and Oishi Park
The long north shore of the lake, where a garden of flowers runs to the water at Oishi Park and the mountain stands directly across the lake, rose at dusk and pale in the morning.
The Chureito Pagoda
A five-storey vermilion pagoda on the hillside of Arakurayama Sengen Park in Fujiyoshida, built in 1963 as a memorial to the war dead. From the terrace above it, reached by a long stair of almost four hundred steps, the pagoda and the town are framed against Mount Fuji in the most famous view of the mountain.
Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine
The great shrine of the mountain on its northern side, founded by tradition in 788, approached by an avenue of tall cedars and stone lanterns to a vast wooden torii. It was the starting point for pilgrims on the Yoshida trail, and it is part of the World Heritage Site.
Oshino Hakkai
Eight spring-fed ponds in the village of Oshino, between this lake and Lake Yamanaka, so clear the weed and the fish seem to hang in air, set among thatched houses and water wheels. The water is snowmelt filtered for decades through the volcanic rock of the mountain.
Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
The museum of the textile artist Itchiku Kubota, on the north shore, whose dyeing was inspired by tsujigahana, an art of the Muromachi era lost for centuries. His kimono, each a panel of a landscape that runs from robe to robe, hang in a timber hall reached through a garden of stone and water.
Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway
A cable car from the eastern shore up Mount Tenjo, a few minutes up to a terrace high above the lake, with the mountain to the south and the whole lake below.
Saiko Iyashi no Sato Nenba
A village of thatched farmhouses rebuilt on the shore of Lake Sai, the next lake to the west, where craftspeople work at weaving, pottery and incense in the thatched houses, with the mountain behind.
Lake Motosu
The deepest and clearest of the Fuji Five Lakes, at the western end of the chain, whose view of the mountain over the water was printed on the back of the thousand-yen note.
The Fifth Station
The Fuji Subaru Line climbs by car from the lake country to the Fifth Station at about 2,300 metres, on the slopes of the mountain itself, for the view down over the lakes and the forest.
experiences
The best of Lake Kawaguchiko
An onsen with the mountain in front of you
An evening in the open-air onsen of a ryokan by the lake, the water steaming in the cold air and the mountain standing across the lake as the light goes.
The lake from the water
An hour on the lake by boat, out from the shore until the mountain is reflected all around, then back for tea.
The pilgrim country
A morning in Fujiyoshida with a guide: the cedar avenue of the Sengen Shrine, a pilgrim lodge of the Edo period where the guides of the Fuji confraternities once housed their parties, and the view from the Chureito Pagoda.
Kimono as landscape
A slow visit to the Itchiku Kubota Art Museum with someone who can explain the dyeing, then lunch on the north shore with the mountain across the lake.
plan your visit
Lake Kawaguchiko on a journey through Japan
- How long to stay
- Two nights at the lake give two evenings and two mornings with the mountain, and a day between for the shrines of Fujiyoshida, the pagoda and Oshino Hakkai; The Classic Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan and Definitive Japan each give it two.
- Getting there
- By road from central Tokyo in about two hours, or by the direct limited express from Shinjuku to the lakeside station in about two hours. From Hakone it is about an hour by car, and from Mishima station on the Tokaido Shinkansen about an hour.
- Pairs well with
- The lake is the place to stay for Mount Fuji: it follows Tokyo, sits before or after Hakone on the far side of the mountain, and leads west to Kyoto by Shinkansen from Mishima.Mount FujiHakoneTokyoKyotoIzu PeninsulaKaruizawa
where to stay
Luxury hotels and ryokan at Lake Kawaguchiko
The ryokan and hotels of the lake are along the eastern and northern shores and on the hills above them, and the best are turned towards Mount Fuji across the water. The Classic Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan stays in a great garden at Fujiyoshida, each room with its own open-air bath with Fuji in view, and Definitive Japan at an onsen ryokan on the shore at Funatsu or in that same garden at Fujiyoshida. The sister of one of Hakone's great ryokan stands on the mountain's eastern slope at Subashiri, in Shizuoka.
For something different, a resort of cabins stands on a wooded hillside above the lake, each with a wide terrace, where evenings are spent by the fire in the forest.
journeys
Tours of Japan that include Lake Kawaguchiko
Open a journey below for its route, its dates and its price. On dates of your own, a Custom Tour of Japan can bring you here and anywhere else in Japan you would like to go.
SpringThe Classic Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan
12 days30 March to 10 April 2027$22,500per person, twin shareSee the journey
The Private CollectionDefinitive Japan
13 daysOn the dates you choose$26,000per person, twin shareSee the journey
Planned around youThe Custom Tour of Japan
Your party aloneWith your own Tour DirectorFrom five nights, on the dates you chooseSee the journey
questions
Lake Kawaguchiko: questions answered
Is the lake town beneath Mount Fuji the best place to stay for the mountain?
Yes, for most travellers. It is the closest of the lake towns to the mountain, with a clear view across the water from the north shore and the best choice of ryokan and hotels.
How do you get from Tokyo to the lake beneath Mount Fuji?
By road in about two hours, or by the direct limited express from Shinjuku in about two hours. On our journeys a private car carries you there.
How many nights should you stay beneath Mount Fuji?
Two nights. It gives you a full day for the shrines, the pagoda and Oshino Hakkai, and two evenings and mornings with the mountain.
Where is the Chureito Pagoda?
In Arakurayama Sengen Park in Fujiyoshida, about fifteen minutes by car from the lake. The view of the pagoda with Mount Fuji behind is from the terrace above it.
Should you stay at the lake beneath Mount Fuji or at Hakone?
The lake for the closest view of Mount Fuji, Hakone for its onsen ryokan, gardens and museums. They are an hour apart by car and many journeys include both.
Are there ryokan with private onsen at the lake beneath Mount Fuji?
Yes. Several ryokan by the lake have rooms and suites with their own open-air onsen, many of them turned towards Mount Fuji.
Which Luxury Japan Travel journeys include Lake Kawaguchiko?
The Classic Cherry Blossom Tour of Japan and Definitive Japan spend nights at Lake Kawaguchiko. On dates of your own, a Custom Tour of Japan can include Lake Kawaguchiko too.
Can Lake Kawaguchiko be part of a private tour of Japan?
Yes. The Custom Tour of Japan is created around your party alone, on your dates, with your own Tour Director, and it can go anywhere in the country, Lake Kawaguchiko included. If you would rather travel independently, the Expert Japan Itinerary plans every day for you.
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Lake Kawaguchiko, planned for you.
Tell us when you would like to travel and what draws you to Lake Kawaguchiko, and we will answer with the journey that suits you best: one of our published tours, a journey of The Private Collection, or a Custom Tour of Japan created around your party alone.