Mt Fuji and Hakone Day Tour | Japan

Last updated on 18 November 2021

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Did you know you can take a Mt Fuji and Hakone Day Tour from Tokyo?

On our trip to Tokyo, one of the things we wanted to get out of the city and check out a bit of the countryside. We discovered that you could take a Mt Fuji and Hakone Day Tour, all in one, and it was wonderful. We embarked on our wee adventure on our first full day in Japan, and it was a great way to experience a bit of Japanese culture and history.

The Mt Fuji and Hakone Tour

We jumped on a tour bus from the hotel next to ours, which took us to a central bus depot. Not realising this was going to happen, it was a little jarring but we decided to just go with the flow and see what happened. From that central bus depot, we got on our actual tour bus and set off for Mt Fuji. The bus took us up to the visitors centre, and we spent a few hours wandering around, checking out the gift stores, going on a short walk into the mountain, and taking a lot of photos.

Mt Fuji

We drove straight to Mt Fuji, and we were incredibly lucky because it was a fine day, and it was very clear. Our tour guide was really excited for us because sometimes she did tours where you couldn’t see the mountain at all. That would have been disappointing, considering we wouldn’t have just been able to go back on another day. But it was stunning.

We went as high up the mountain as buses could go, to the 5th station which is 2300 meters above sea level. Because we had such a structured day, we only had about a half-hour there, but we went a little way into the mountain track, which was beautifully dressed in autumnal shades. I love autumn.

From there we headed to the place we were going for lunch, which was about half an hour away from the mountain. We had a Japanese lunch at a restaurant and were able to have a break by this stunning lake. It was a little like a New Zealand lake, surrounded by mountains, and with a scattering of lake-related activities.

Hakone

After lunch, we jumped back on the bus and went to a place called Hakone, which is a place in the centre of a mountain range.

If you imagine a doughnut of mountains, Hakone is the hole. We got on a boat and took a trip across the lake to a small area with a gondola. Up we went, and it was sunset, so we got this incredible sight of the sun setting over the mountains and saw the ocean from where we were. Our tour guide pointed it out, and I asked her if we jumped in if we could swim to New Zealand. I don’t think we could make it.

Bonus: Bullet Train

Down the gondola again, and the bus took us to the station, where we got to take the famous Shinkansen bullet train back to Tokyo. It was insane! We managed to grab a video of the bullet train at the station flying by, and the video is literally seconds in length, the train just a blur as it zooms by.

From the station in Tokyo, we jumped on another line and went back to the hotel. It was an incredible first day in Japan, and spending our time on the Mt Fuji and Hakone Day Tour was definitely worth it. If we hadn’t joined the tour, we wouldn’t have gone, and that would have been a right shame.