Mount Fuji Day Trip Review: Is It Worth It? Which Trip Should You Choose?
One of the biggest questions people ask when planning a Japan itinerary is whether you can realistically visit Mount Fuji as a day trip from Tokyo. A Mount Fuji day trip is one of the most popular day trips sold to tourists in Tokyo, but is this a trip worth taking? Having tried it ourselves, here’s everything you need to know.
Firstly, after researching the logistics, we quickly realised that trying to visit Mount Fuji from Tokyo independently would mean long train journeys, multiple connections and absolutely no guarantee of actually seeing Japan’s most famous mountain. The drive time from Tokyo to Mount Fuji takes around 2 hours 15 minutes (longer if you allow for traffic) and the public transport travel time is longer again.
So instead, we did something we very rarely do: we booked a day trip with a tour guide. In fact, we booked Klook’s Mount Fuji Classic Day Tour, and honestly, I think it was one of the best decisions we could have made. And after three trips to Japan, we fulfilled our goal of finally seeing the peak of Mount Fuji!
If you’re wondering whether a Munt Fuji day trip is worth booking, here’s our honest review after experiencing it ourselves.
Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!
Which Tour Did We Book?
We booked the Mount Fuji Classic Day Tour: Mount Fuji 5th Station, Arakurayama Park, Lawson, Matcha Experience & Oshino Hakkai through Klook.
It combines many of Mount Fuji’s most famous viewpoints into one full-day itinerary, departing from central Tokyo. What we loved about this trip was that
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Why We Chose A Tour Instead Of Doing It Ourselves
If you’re regular readers or you’ve explored our content before then you’ll know that we’re huge fans of DIY travel. We almost always organise our own itineraries rather than joining organised tours, so that we can take things at our own pace.
Mount Fuji was the exception. And I’m going to explain why, for most people but particularly families with kids, it’s a well-deserved exception to the rule.
The biggest challenge isn’t simply getting there, although getting there and back in a day can be tricky. It’s also knowing:
- where the best viewpoints are
- which order to visit them
- how to maximise your chances of actually seeing Mount Fuji
The mountain is famously shy, often hiding behind clouds for much of the day. Our tour guide was great, tracking cloud coverage and visibility changes, and he actually switched around our scheduled itinerary so we would have the highest change of seeing the peak – and it worked! We did!
I appreciate this isn’t my most flattering shot, but it is the perfect representation of just how excited we were when we finally spotted the elusive Fuji San. We were incredibly lucky with the weather and enjoyed spectacular views throughout the day.
What We Did and What We Saw
Multiple Famous Viewpoints
Rather than spending the entire day in one location, we visited several of Mount Fuji’s most iconic viewing spots.That meant every stop offered a completely different perspective of Japan’s most famous mountain, and it also meant that we got loads of different photos. All those iconic Fuji shots you see on social media? Many of them are several miles apart!
Arakurayama Sengen Park
This was one of the highlights of the day, and ending up being our first stop.
The famous pagoda overlooking Mount Fuji is probably one of Japan’s most recognisable views, and seeing it in person was every bit as impressive as we’d hoped. Called the Chureito Pagoda, this is a 5-storey traditional pagoda, and it was constructed as a peace memorial to commemorate those lost in the war from Fuijiyoshida City.
I will say that getting up to the Pagoda is no easy feat, and this is something to bare in mind if you’re travelling with young children. There are 398 steps from the bottom to the top and these are fairly steep, with the whole process taking 10-15 sweaty minutes. If you have a buggy there is a paved slope for a step-free route to the top, but this takes longer and it’s still a steep hike.
Tip: Carry plenty of water, and if you want that famous pagoda photo, allow time to queue. We queued for around 20 minutes to get the shot you see above!
Lawson Convenience Store
It might sound like an unusual stop, but this Lawson Convenience Store has become one of Mount Fuji’s most photographed locations. The famous Lawson convenience store with Mount Fuji towering behind it makes for a surprisingly iconic photo opportunity and more importantly, this is a great place to stop and stock up on drinks and snacks for the journey too!
Would I go out my way to explore this Lawson? Probably not. It did feel a little overhyped to me, and there were crowds of people trying to get the perfect shot. Was it a great place for a 5 minute stop on our coach store? Absolutely, and I’m glad we got to see it!
Oshino Hakkai
On our way back from Mount Fuji to Tokyo, we stopped in the traditional village of Oshino Hakkai. This was another favourite stop of the tour for us.
Oshino Hakkai is located in the Fuji Five Lakes region, between Lake Kawaguchiko and Lake Yamanakoko, and it is part of the Mount Fuji UNESCO World Heritage sites. This was the longest stop on our tour, and we were given time to explore the Eight Sacred Ponds, enjoy Mount Fuji views, and enjoy delicious local food.
Don’t waste time or money eating anywhere else on your Mount Fuji trip: Save your appetite for Oshino Hakkai. The village is famous for its abundance of street food stalls, and we ate like gluttons as we explored!
Matcha Experience
The tour also included a matcha experience, giving us the chance to enjoy another traditional part of Japanese culture during the trip. You could either enjoy the matcha, or head to the lake behind the restaurant for more Fuji San views. We opted to do the latter, and it was lovely to be by the water.
It gave us a moment of calm to regroup and relax, just the four of us.
The boys skimmed stones while we took photos and then we all sat down and enjoyed the views and the sounds of the water against the shore.
Is A Mount Fuji Day Trip Rushed?
Yes, i’m not going to lie to you. If you take a Mount Fuji day trip you will absolutely feel rushed in part.
But in my opinion, that’s also why it works. It’s the only way you’re going to see the best of everything in just one day. There’s no getting around the fact that Mount Fuji is a considerable distance from Tokyo. Trying to squeeze multiple locations into a single day inevitably means moving at a fairly brisk pace.
Would we have loved longer at some of the stops? Absolutely. For example, I would have loved another hour to take Arakurayama Sengen Park at a slower pace. But if the alternative is only seeing one viewpoint, or spending hours navigating trains ourselves abd then spending longer on train station platforms than actually in Fuji, I’d happily make the same decision again.
We came away feeling that we’d seen far more than would have been possible independently. And we were so glad that we’d finally seen the peak of Mount Fuji with our own eyes.
Is A Mount Fuji Day Trip Suitable For Families?
Yes, this trip works really well for kids. We travelled with our boys who were 10 and 13 and found the day well organised and straightforward. There were children younger than ours on our trip too.
There was very little stress involved because someone else handled all the transport and navigation.
The boys particularly enjoyed:
- Spotting Mount Fuji from different viewpoints
- Running as fast as they could up the stairs to Arakurayama Sengen Park
- Eating all the snacks and street food at Oshino Hakka
Would I Recommend Booking Through Klook?
Definitely. We almost exclusively use Klook for our day trips when travelling, and although we don’t book organised tours very often, we have now used Klook tours to visit Mount Fuji, the DMZ in Korea, and Chichen Itza in Mexico.
The booking process was simple, communication before the trip was excellent and everything ran smoothly on the day. We really liked our guide, who gave us loads of information as we were travelling between viewing spots.
👉 You can check prices and availability for the exact Classic Mount Fuji tour we took here
🎁 Use code THATMUMTRAVEL5KLOOK to get an extra reader-exclusive discount
Most importantly, we came away having experienced many of Mount Fuji’s most famous locations in a single day without worrying about transport or logistics. And if we went back, we’d do it the same way again. From independent travellers like us, that’s quite a compliment.
Final Thoughts and Further Reading
Although we’re normally dedicated DIY travellers, I genuinely believe an organised tour is the best way to visit Mount Fuji from Tokyo if you’re short on time, and you can only dedicate a day of your itinerary to this.
The guides know the area, understand the weather conditions and take you to several of the mountain’s most iconic viewpoints in one carefully planned itinerary.
Was it a whistle-stop tour? Yes. Would I book it again? Without hesitation.
Looking for additional guides and reviews to help plan your perfect Japan itinerary? Keep reading below:
👉 Culture in Tokyo: 8 Cultural Tokyo Experiences You Have to Try
👉 Tokyo Airport Transfers: A Complete Guide to Getting from Narita and Haneda Airports to Tokyo
👉 10 Day Tokyo Itinerary for 2025: The Perfect Japan Stay For Families and First Timers
👉 Ultimate 5-Days Tokyo Itinerary for Families: Full Guide For Travelling With Kids
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Heads up! This post may contain affiliate links, which means if you click and make a purchase, I might earn a very small commission – at no extra cost to you. This helps to keep the blog going. Thanks for the support!
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