Driving around the Fuji Five Lakes – a 2 day itinerary

We picked up our rental car in Shizuoka and began our two-day trip, driving around the Fuji Five Lakes. We got excellent views of Mount Fuji and stopped at other great sights in the area. This trip was for two adults and our 2-year-old son in October.

This was part of our 10 day Japan itinerary.

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Shizuoka accommodation with Mount Fuji view

After collecting the rental car in Shizuoka we drove uphill to our accommodation. It was getting dark so there were no views. In the morning, we explored the large grounds in front of the hotel and got our first glimpse of Mount Fuji. It was foggy and clouds were covering most of it but we were so happy to get any view of the elusive mountain. The main reason for staying at the Nippondaira Hotel was that it offered a great view including Mt.Fuji. With the mountain being visible for only a small percentage of the year, we wanted to take every opportunity we could to increase our chances. The hotel’s hilltop location gave it views of the bay area below and Mt.Fuji out in the distance. We took advantage of the large grounds and let our 2-year-old run around and burn energy before our car trip. 

Our 2-day itinerary driving around Mount Fuji

During day 1 of driving, we were able to see Mount Fuji from four of the five lakes. We drove to the last one on our second day and had great views after taking a cable car in Kawaguchiko. During our driving trip, we also visited a beautiful waterfall.

Day 1: Driving around The Fuji Five Lakes

I entered a phone number I had for somewhere near Yamanakako into the car’s GPS and also checked the Google Maps route. We drove through town a little before stopping at the interchange (IC) and taking a ticket from the machine. This was the entrance for the Tomei Expressway which we followed for most of the way.

Check Rentalcars.com for deals on rental cars for your Mount Fuji driving trip. 

The road offered some nice views of Suruga Bay and we were able to get a glimpse of Mt. Fuji between the moving clouds. The right lane was closed for most of the way. We couldn’t see the reason why and were joking that they must have a huge supply of safety cones as they seemed to go on forever. A car pulled out in front to slow the traffic. We finally came across the reason for the lane closure. Workers were trimming the plants in the centre of the expressway.   

Read our guide to renting a car and driving in Japan.

Lake Yamanaka

At about 11:30 am we arrived at our first stop, Lake Yamanaka. The largest of the Fuji five lakes. We followed the GPS and found a park in front of the lake. The clouds cleared enough for a great view of Mount Fuji from behind the lake. Yamanakako was a lovely lake with several water birds including swans. We could also see boats out on the water and one was shaped like a large swan.

We spent some time strolling along the path, meeting a Japanese family with a cute baby. Many people were walking their dogs, most of which were dressed up. Across the road was a public toilet where I had my first experience with a squat toilet. After taking in the view we drove further up the road and bought lunch from a 7-11. We ate sandwiches and sushi rolls by the lake, then got back in the car and continued driving around the Fuji Five Lakes.

Oshino Hakkai

Our next stop was Oshino Hakkai, a short drive from Lake Yamanaka. Oshino Hakkai is a set of eight ponds fed by snowmelt from Mt. Fuji. The ponds are on the site of a former sixth lake, that dried up several hundred years ago. We arrived in the village area and drove down very narrow streets following the GPS direction for the phone number I had entered. Tim missed the road leading to a carpark and we drove down the road leading to the ponds. Driving around all the people walking had us worried that we were on a footpath but it was a road, luckily we were driving a small car. He found a spot to turn around and we headed back and parked the car.

We walked down the same road we had accidentally driven down. It was lined with small stores selling all sorts of different things. We strolled around viewing each pond, one of which had a drinking area where people were using a cup to catch the water flowing into the pond. There is a large store selling all sorts of souvenirs and food items and also has an attached cafe.

Hannokibayashi Folklore Museum

We paid 300 yen each to enter the open-air museum and were told we couldn’t push our stroller around the grounds. The open-air museum had a nice garden area around a pond and some traditional thatched-roof buildings. It was very small and the main farmhouse that can usually be entered was being renovated, which was disappointing. We didn’t feel it was worth the 600 yen it cost us to enter but may have been spoiled after visiting Shirakawago the previous year. We went up steep steps to a lookout spot that I believe would normally give a view of Mt. Fuji but we couldn’t find the mountain through the clouds. There was a view of mountains on the other side.

Driving to more Fuji lakes

We entered the number of our Kawaguchiko hotel into the GPS but it was only 13 km away and we knew our toddler needed a decent sleep. Soon after driving out of the village he fell asleep and was still sleeping when we arrived in Lake Kawaguchi. Thinking we may as well take advantage of the situation, we drove straight past the hotel. We decided to keep driving around Mount Fuji and see more of the lakes, seeing some beautiful houses along the way.

Lake Sai

Around Saiko there are camping grounds with kayaks by the lake. The area also has an open-air museum and caves that you can enter. As our little one was sleeping, we just viewed Mount Fuji from Lake Sai.

Lake Shoji

Shojiko is the smallest of the Five Fuji Lakes. We pulled the car up on the edge of the lake for a view of Lake Shoji and Mount Fuji.

Kawaguchiko accommodation

We drove back to Lake Kawaguchi where we were staying the night. Our accommodation was at Hotel New Century and the parking was across the road in front of the lake. Spotting a sign for the hotel, we pulled in and a man approached. He asked if we were hotel guests before directing Tim to a park. Once parked and unloaded, the same man helped us to get across the busy road, stopping traffic so we could cross. We checked in and were told to leave our room key when we left for dinner and they would make up our futons for the night. The hotel felt dated and tired inside. We rode an old elevator up to our room.

A hotel room with a view of Lake Kawaguchi and Mount Fuji

The room itself also felt dated with dark furniture and pink curtains. It was clean and tidy. Best of all, the glass door opened onto a small balcony that overlooked Lake Kawaguchi and had views of Mt. Fuji. There were some complimentary biscuits in the shape of Mt. Fuji so I made us some green tea to have with them. Our 2-year-old loved the table and chairs on the floor and made us take photos of him and his green tea.

We later went out, leaving our key as instructed. I had broken my glasses so we went to a supermarket and bought superglue to fix them. We went to a nearby McDonald’s for dinner and Fletcher had a kid’s meal that came with a bullet train and a piece of track.

Returning to the hotel and entering our room, we found it had not been set up with bedding. We had been gone for quite some time but it was still fairly early so I waited. We wanted to get Fletcher settled for the night so, I went down to reception to ask for futons to be set up. I said we had already been out and just returned and was told someone would be up shortly. I went back to the room and after a while, a man entered. He was very grumpy and huffed about while laying out the bedding.

Our thoughts on the hotel

A Japanese style room in a hotel certainly doesn’t carry the same service as a more traditional ryokan. It was a little annoying being charged an extra rate for Fletcher. We weren’t eating at the hotel so, we thought perhaps he would get his own futon. That wasn’t the case. This was the only hotel we had come across that charged for a 2-year-old to share a bed. Luckily the room had such a great view, so we were able to overlook the rest.

Day 2: Mount Fuji views and a waterfall

On the second day of our driving around Mount Fuji itinerary, we rode the ropeway for amazing views, drove to the fifth lake and saw a wonderful waterfall. 

Mount Fuji Panoramic Ropeway

It was a short drive from the hotel to the Mount Fuji Panoramic Ropeway. We were directed into a parking lot across the road from the ropeway entrance. We paid for a round trip and stood in line for a cable car. The cable cars make their way up Mt.Tenjo to an observation deck. On the way up you get a fantastic view of the lake and the Kawaguchiko area.

There is now a paid attraction of a swing with Mount Fuji views. At the time of our visit, the attraction was the story of a rabbit who took revenge on a tanuki by setting him alight and sinking his boat. Not exactly a family-friendly tale but the characters were cute and our toddler happily posed by them for photos.

From the observation deck, we had the most incredible view of Mount Fuji. We spent about an hour wandering around, taking in the view. We had our photo taken with the view of Mount Fuji behind us. There was a postcard with a small photo on it for free. As it was a photo with all three of us, plus a great view, I paid 1000 yen for the full-size image. Fletcher and I rang the Bell of Tenjo, which is said to grant you a wish when you ring while looking at Mt. Fuji.

Lake Motosu

We had one lake left out of the Fuji Five Lakes. The view of Mount Fuji from Motosuko features on the 1000 yen note. As our toddler was sleeping in the car, we simply pulled over by the lake to take in the view. While driving to Lake Motosu, we had great views of Mount Fuji in front of us.

Driving around Mount Fuji

From the lake to our next destination was about 30 minutes of driving around the other side of Mount Fuji. It was a lovely warm day and as we enjoyed the different scenery of Mount Fuji, we noticed the snow cap was becoming smaller. While driving we also spotted paragliders in the mountains.

Shiraito Falls

The parking lot for Shiraito Falls had a fee of ¥500. We bought sandwiches and onigiri from the 7-11 across the road and ate our lunch at the top area of the falls. Passing by the stores, we walked down the steep steps leading to the main waterfall. Shiraito Falls in Fujinomiya are listed among Japan’s top waterfalls and viewing them, it was clear why. They are fed from the spring waters of Mt. Fuji and are absolutely stunning, surrounded by lush foliage.

After viewing the falls we walked back up the steep steps and browsed in the stores. We bought some souvenirs, a bottle of Mt. Fuji water and Kit Kats. As it was such a nice warm day, we decided to sit and have some ice cream. I wanted to try a unique flavour so opted for a cone with wasabi soft serve. I found it refreshing, a vanilla ice cream with a bit of wasabi kick.

Getting from Shizuoka to Tokyo

It was about a one-hour drive to Shizuoka, where we had to return the rental car. We didn’t bother getting fuel as last time the fee for returning un-filled was very reasonable. It was more expensive this time though, so we probably should have filled it up ourselves. It would have been much easier to get to a fuel station in Shizuoka than it would have been in Nagoya.

With the car returned, we walked to Shizuoka station and took a shinkansen to Shinagawa station, then the Yamanote line to Yoyogi station where we had a nearby Airbnb apartment.