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Mount Fuji & Hakone

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Things to do in Mount Fuji & Hakone (Japan): Chureito Pagoda, Lake Kawaguchi, Hakone: Owakudani & Lake Ashi, Hakone Shrine. Prices, opening times and the author’s tips.

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What to see

Chureito Pagoda
Photo: https://www.flickr.com/photos/reggiepen/, CC BY 2.0

🗻Chureito Pagoda

A five-storey red pagoda on a hillside with Mount Fuji behind it — Japan's most recognisable view. Almost 400 steps lead up to it.

Price Free

Insider tip Climb at sunrise: Fuji is most often visible in the morning and hides in the clouds by midday. Don't step into residents' yards for a shot — locals are tired of tourists.

Lake Kawaguchi
Photo: Midori, CC BY 3.0

🚲Lake Kawaguchi

A lake at the foot of Fuji with the mountain reflected in the water, the Kachi Kachi ropeway and a tunnel of maples on the north shore.

Price Ropeway return about ¥1,000

Insider tip Rent a bike at the station and ride along the north shore for the best view. The bus from Shinjuku takes about 2 hours — book your ticket in advance.

Hakone: Owakudani & Lake Ashi
Photo: Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA, CC BY 2.0

♨️Hakone: Owakudani & Lake Ashi

The Hakone loop: a mountain railway, a funicular, a ropeway over the steaming Owakudani valley and a "pirate ship" across Lake Ashi with views of Fuji.

Price Hakone Freepass from Shinjuku — about ¥6,000–7,000 for 2 days

Insider tip In Owakudani try a black egg boiled in a sulphur spring: legend says each one adds 7 years to your life. Do the loop anticlockwise to avoid the worst queues.

Hakone Shrine
Photo: Aimaimyi, CC BY-SA 3.0

⛩Hakone Shrine

A red torii gate standing in the waters of Lake Ashi and a path to the shrine through ancient cedars.

Price Free

Insider tip The queue for a photo at the gate can take an hour. Come at 7 am, or photograph it from the water on the pirate ship.

A night in a ryokan with an onsen
Photo: 663highland, CC BY 2.5

🛁A night in a ryokan with an onsen

How to choose a ryokan and not get lost in the onsen — everything booking sites don't tell you.

Secret spot: details and the map pin are in the full guide

Oshino Hakkai
Photo: MaedaAkihiko, CC BY-SA 4.0

💧Oshino Hakkai

A village with eight ponds of Fuji snowmelt, crystal clear to the bottom.

Secret spot: details and the map pin are in the full guide

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