Kawaguchiko travel blog — The fullest Kawaguchiko travel guide & Lake Kawaguchiko itinerary 2 days for the first-timers

I ate at an eatery that opposite Kawaguchi station and close to my hotel. However, this shop is only open in the morning, and it only open from 9 – 9:30am. Houtou noodle is quite similar to the cold soba noodle which I ate in Kyoto. In addition to this shop, you can refer to another famous restaurant, Houtou Fudou (Address: 2458 Funatsu Higashikoiji, Fujikawaguchiko-machi, Minamitsuru-gun 401-0301, Yamanashi Prefecture / Hours: 11AM–8PM / Phone: +81 555-72-8511), but it is located a bit far from Kawaguchi station.

There are many eateries and restaurants around Kawaguchiko station. However, in the evening they closed quite early, especially traditional food stores. For dinner I went looking for a long time, finally eating in a restaurant a bit far away from the station, called Tetsuyaki (Address: 3486 Funatsu, Fujikawaguchiko, Minamitsuru District, Yamanashi 401-0301, Japan / Hours: 12–2PM, 5–9:30PM; Sunday: Closed / Phone: +81 70-4075-1683). Later at night, there was a fairly large Tempura restaurant open, but I didn’t like to eat tempura very much.

My meal is a stir-fried squid dish and battered deep fried fish. Overall quite delicious, there are many Western tourist and Japanese people eating here, mostly are tourist couples. The price for the meal is 1.800JPY ($16.56).

Lake Kawaguchiko itinerary: What to do in Kawaguchiko and how to spend 2 days in Lake Kawaguchiko?

2 days in Kawaguchiko — Day 1

Take the train from Tokyo to Kawaguchiko

6 AM: Go to Tokyo Station to take a bus to Lake Kawaguchiko.

8:30 AM: The bus arrives at Kawaguchi station, get off the bus and go to the hotel to send my luggage. Then go to breakfast – Houtou noodles at Houtou Restaurant nearby.

9:30 AM: Line up to buy 2 Day Pass in Kawaguchi to use sightseeing tourist bus. The first destination is Arakurayama Sengen Park, but there is no bus until 11:00 AM, so I take the train to avoid waiting. The train in Kawaguchiko is very beautiful with many colors outside, inside the cabin is also very cool and cure.

Arakurayama Sengen Park

10:30 AM: The train arrives Shimoyoshida station, walking about 10 minutes to reach the foot of the mountain. From here, I climbed the mountain for 15-20 minutes to reach the top of Arakurayama Sengen Park. The way up has quite a lot of rest and dining points, and any spot can be viewed directly to Mount Fuji.

However, the best spot to see Mt. Fuji is still the peak of Arakurayama Sengen, with a small beautiful pagoda called Chureito that is painted in red, very nice. If you come here in the season of cherry blossoms, the flowers bloom will create even more spectacular scene.

Address: 3353-1 Arakura, Fujiyoshida 403-0011, Yamanashi Prefecture
Hours: Open 24 hours
Phone: +81 555-22-1111

Take the bus around Lake Kawaguchiko

At 12:00 AM, I returned to Kawaguchiko central station, taking a red line bus to get around the lake for sightseeing. The area around the lake has a lot of attractions and buses will stop at every point so visitors can get off, want to continue, wait for another bus to pick up, it is a hop-on and hop-off bus.

Attractions around Lake Kawaguchiko such as:

Lake Kawaguchiko Ohashi Bridge (Fujikawaguchiko-machi): Many young people gather here, you can walk across the bridge, or wander around on the riverside road.

Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway: Sitting in a cable car you can see both Mount Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi, up to the top is Mount Tenjo – which is mentioned in the context of Kachi Kachi Yama fairy tale. Remember to take a picture with the heart-shaped Tenjo no Kane bell.

Kawaguchiko Music Forest Museum: This European-style museum is located in a garden. If you go walking around, it is free, and step inside to visit you have to pay admission fee.

Oishi Park: The last point of the red line bus, this park is a massive complex that views straight to Mt. Fuji. Oishi is also a huge flower garden with lots of colorful flowers. The services at the park are also diverse, including restaurants, food stores, shopping malls, cafes, ..

Getting to the town to see the beautiful Mt. Fuji at sunset

After finishing the sightseeing bus tour around lake Kawaguchiko with the Red Line bus, I returned to Kawaguchiko central station and continued to catch the train to Mt. Fuji Station. From here I wandered into the town center. There are no places to visit here, but it is a living area of indigenous people, full of services, shops, stores, and supermarkets.

A best spot where you can see Mount Fuji at sunset is the town center, with both sides of the street lights up. The spectacle is like Mt. Fuji is devouring a neighborhood, so majestic.

Kawaguchiko itinerary — Day 2

Saiko Iyashino-Sato Nenba (Ancient Japanese Village)

This village located next to Lake Saiko is quite far from Kawaguchi central station. The earliest bus route departs at 9.30am, so if you wake up early, you can cycle around Lake Kawaguchi to breathe fresh air in the morning.

It takes about 45 minutes to travel from Kawaguchiko to Iyashi no Sato village, the way passes through both Lake Kawaguchi and Lake Saiko. The roadside scenery is beautiful and if you have time, you should stop on the road to enjoy it.

Iyashi no Sato Village originated as an old village located in the west of Saiko Lake. It was destroyed by a landslide and many years later, houses with traditional thatched roofs were rebuilt. They rebuilt it and make it become an outdoor museum and traditional craft village with local handicraft products.

Admission is 350 JPY ($3.22), it will take about 1 hour to visit the village. From here view Mount Fuji is also very beautiful, very suitable for those who like to take pictures.

Address: 2710 Saikonemba, Fujikawaguchiko-machi, Minamitsuru-gun 401-0332, Yamanashi Prefecture
Hours: 9AM–5PM
Phone: +81 555-20-4677

Return to Lake Kawaguchi

Actually, the first day I went around Lake Kawaguchi but it was still not very satisfying, because that day was murky. On the 2nd day, the sun was beautiful, and I decided to go back to Lake Kawaguchi to take photos. The lake surface is also greener and clear clouds to see the best of Mount Fuji.

You can stop at the opposite point of Mt. Fuji, about 2 km from Oishi park. It often has early blooming cherry blossoms, along with a small gravel-lined street for walking, very beautiful.

In addition to the attractions in the Lake Kawaguchiko itinerary for 2 days above, if you have more time, you can visit some other attractions like Itchiku Kubota Art Museum. Or spend half a day or full day for playing at Fuji-Q Highland amusement park.

Usually, people will combine to visit both Kawaguchiko and Hakone, which is famous for its onsen bathing resorts. We had a very detailed guide about Hakone here: Hakone travel blog — The Hakone travel guide & how to spend 2 days in Hakone for the first-timers.

Some best day tours, trips, activities and transfer services, tickets in, from and to Lake Kawaguchi you can refer to

• Mt. Fuji and Lake Kawaguchi Scenic Spots Day Tour from Tokyo
• Mt Fuji Day Tour from Tokyo
• [Klook Exclusive] Mt. Fuji, Lake Kawaguchi, and Seasonal Fruits Day Trip
• Lake Kawaguchi, Arakura Mountain Sengen Park, and Yamanakako Onsen Experience Full Day Trip from Tokyo
• Mt. Fuji, Hakone, Lake Yamanaka, and Lake Kawaguchi Tour from Tokyo (with a Chinese-speaking Guide)
• Mt. Fuji, Oshino Hakkai and Lake Kawaguchi Day Tour with Matcha Experience from Tokyo
• Tokyo Subway Ticket (24, 48, or 72 Hours)
• Tokyo Skyliner and Tokyo Subway Ticket
• Shuttle Bus Transfers (One Way/Round Trip) from Shinjuku/Ikebukuro to Tokyo Disneyland or Tokyo DisneySea
• Sky Hop-on and Hop-off Bus Pass
• 4G Prepaid Sim Card (JP Airports Pick Up) for Japan
• 4G WiFi (Japan Pick Up) for Japan
• JR Pass for Whole Japan (7, 14, or 21 Days)

Are you looking for more top things to do around Mount Fuji: Tours, activities, attractions and other things? Read more: Mount Fuji places to visit — Top 10 most beautiful places to visit near MT Fuji. And Mount Fuji day trip blog — How to spend one perfect day itinerary in Mt Fuji?