I’ve always wanted to see Mount Fuji (known in Japan as fujisan/富士山) and I finally got to see it in my recent trip to Japan. Very luckily for me, the weather was excellent for the entire trip (other than 1 overcast day and an evening of rain.) Thanks to the excellent weather, I managed to see and capture Mount Fuji from various locations – from a distance away as well as from a closer location.
My first encounter with the elusive snow-capped mountain was when I was up at the observation deck of the Tokyo Tower. Walking around the observation deck, I caught the snow-capped mountain peaking above the many skyscrapers in Tokyo.
I caught a closer view of Mount Fuji when I went to Hakone for a day trip.
Finally, while at Lake Kawaguchiko, one of the largest of the Fuji 5 lakes, Mount Fuji revealed her beauty once again. This is also the place I shot the most pictures of Japan’s iconic mountain. Because of strong reflections on the lake from the sun, I have to find creative ways to minimize it.
Finally, just before I left the place, I took a couple more shots.
Hi there, chanced upon this post while searching the net for information on F&E trip for Mt. Fuji. Love the photos you took and the compositions were really nice for Mt. Fuji! I can’t wait to go soon.
I’m going Japan in early November and of course, I hope to catch a glimpse of Mt. Fuji. May I know if you did both the Fuji Five Lakes and Hakone in a day? Would you mind sharing your itinerary for this leg of your trip? Thank you!
I did two day trips – one to Hakone and one to Lake Kawaguchiko (one of the 5 lakes). It’d not be possible to do both in a day as the places are rather big and will take some time to explore. It’s already a little rushed to do each in a single day, so if you have enough time, I suggest you stay a night.
For Hakone, I did the round course, which takes you on 5 different modes of transport to explore highlights of Hakone.
For Kawaguchiko, I just went there and used their shuttle bus to get around. Timing can be a little erratic though.
Enjoy your trip!
Thanks for your fast reply CK! I would love to do what you did but we don’t have the luxury of time ): Previously we were planning to take up a sunrise tour, so we only allocated a day for this. But we realised it’s costly yet it doesn’t bring us to Fuji Five Lakes (it would bring us to the 5th station instead, but it would be crowded yet not a good view of the mountain).
Would you recommend the Lake Kawaguchiko or Hakone, for a day trip? Because I can only choose one out of the two… Even if I try to squeeze both in, I’ll end up spending most of the time on transport, would be such a waste on the views!
I’d say Hakone has better scenery all-around, but Kawaguchiko has better views of Mt. Fuji and fall colours. In either case, take the earliest bus/train so that you can maximise your time. In November, the sun sets at around 5pm in Japan. Do check out http://www.japan-guide.com for more info or my Flickr set to have an idea of what’s in each location. Enjoy your trip!
Sorry for the late reply and really big thanks for your tips and advice, CK! For the entire trip, we intend to start-early-end-early, since Japan’s sun rises and sun sets early (shops close pretty early too). Just can’t wait to go now 😀 Thanks for your help!