Mt. Fuji is iconic in Japan, and seeing the famous snow-capped mountain is on most visitors’ bucket lists. Fortunately, plenty of spots in the Hakone and Fuji Five Lakes areas offer incredible viewpoints of Mt. Fuji.
For the best chance of seeing Mt. Fuji, you can use the Fuji Hakone Pass. The Fuji Hakone Pass allows you to spend 3 days visiting all the viewpoints and many other great attractions en route.
The famous snowcap of Mt. Fuji usually forms around the beginning of October. However, when we visited (2024), it didn’t appear until 6th November, the latest in the year Mt. Fuji had seen snow since records began 130 years ago.
You can view all the attractions in this Fuji Hakone Pass itinerary on my Google Map.
What is the Fuji Hakone Pass?
The Fuji Hakone Pass is a ticket that non-Japanese tourists can purchase. It allows one round-trip on the Odakyu Line between Shinjuku Station and Odawara Station. From Odawara, you can enjoy unlimited use of designated transport throughout the Hakone and Fuji Five Lakes areas. This includes all designated buses, trains, boats, cable cars and ropeways.
The Fuji Hakone Pass is valid for 3 consecutive days. It costs ¥10,100 for adults and ¥3,100 for children (6-11 years).
Where to buy the Fuji Hakone Pass
You can purchase the Fuji Hakone Pass from the Odakyu Sightseeing Service Centres in Shinjuku or Odawara. In Shinjuku Station, there are 2 Service Centres: one in the west and one in the south. Both are on the western side of the tracks, but one is located at the south exit.
We used the Odakyu Sightseeing Service Centre at Shinjuku South, so I will explain that one. To get there, enter the station at the Odakyu South Exit, off Koshu-Kaido Avenue. You enter the station under the steps and walkway bridge. The Service Centre is opposite the Odakyu Line South Gate.
I recommend purchasing the Fuji Hakone Pass from here the day before you plan to use it. That way, you can avoid lengthy morning queues that will waste your time actually using it!
Luggage storage
To make the trip more manageable, you’ll want to pack a smaller bag for the 3 days. There are several options for luggage storage. You can try asking your hotel in Tokyo if they can store your luggage, but most will only allow storage for the day of check-in or check-out.
Luggage storage facilities
Most major train stations have luggage storage counters that will store your luggage for a daily fee.
Sagawa Express has a counter inside the Shinjuku Expressway Bus terminal. A large bag costs ¥1,500 per day. The Odakyu Sightseeing Service Centres also offer luggage storage for a similar price.
The only issue we had with these was the counter opening times. We wanted to get an early start to beat the crowds and make the most of our time, but the counters didn’t open until 9 a.m. while we were there.
Luggage forwarding
If you really want to take everything with you, you could use a luggage forwarding service. Although, it doesn’t seem worthwhile for such a short time. Alternatively, you could have your luggage delivered to your next hotel after visiting Fuji and Hakone.
The main providers are Yamato Transport, Sagawa Express, and Japan Post. They can forward your luggage between hotels, usually by the next day. For the Greater Tokyo area, it will cost around ¥2500 per item.
Coin Lockers
In Shinjuku Station, you can store your luggage in a coin locker for up to 3 days. Perfect for the duration of your Hakone Fuji trip!
The easiest bank of lockers from the Odakyu South Line Gate is beneath the Odakyu Department Store. With the Odakyu Sightseeing Service Centre on your left, head over to the stairs leading down. Take these stairs all the way down to the department store food basement. Then, head left and look for the corridor full of lockers. Make sure to arrive early in the morning, as they fill up fast!
We could fit both of our 65-70 litre soft shell bags into one large locker, costing ¥900 per day. You’ll pay the first ¥900 when you put your luggage in and receive a receipt. Keep this safe and take a photo of it, as the code for opening the locker is printed on it. You’ll pay the remainder of the fee when you collect your luggage on the 3rd day.
We chose this option as it was cheaper and felt more flexible for us to start early.
Fuji Hakone Pass itinerary
Day 1 – Hakone
Getting to Hakone
We aimed for the 8 a.m. train from Shinjuku to Odawara. Although, the first train is as early as 5 a.m. if you’re an early bird. We had to change trains at Odawara Station and get the train to Hakone-Yumoto Station. The journey took around 2 hours.
You can also get the “Romance Car” train from Shinjuku directly to Hakone-Yumoto. It will save you about 30 minutes, but you will need to reserve your seat in advance. You’ll also need to pay an extra ¥1200 one way in addition to your Fuji Hakone Pass. You can purchase this ticket at the Odakyu Sightseeing Service Centre or on the Odakyu website.
Hakone & Lake Ashi
From Hakone-Yumoto Station we took the Hakone Tozan Bus K (Brown line) to Motohakone-Ko. The journey took around 40 minutes. From here, you can walk to the Hakone Shrine and take a cruise across Lake Ashi.
The Lake Ashi cruise is unique as you sail on a pirate ship! There are 3 different pirate ships in operation, and the journey takes 25-40 minutes. From the lake, you can get a peek at Mt Fuji’s cap. Unfortunately, the visibility was terrible during our cruise, so we didn’t see it here. The pirate ship dropped us off at Togendai Port, and from here, we made our way to Fuji Five Lakes.
Getting to Fuji Five Lakes
To get the bus to Fuji Five Lakes, head into Togendai Station and take a right towards the bus stands. Look for the Odakyu Highway bus; the stop should be just outside the station exit. You want to head to Gotemba Station. The bus journey took around 45 minutes, and we changed buses here.
For the second bus, go into Gotemba Station and cross to the other side (Mt. Fuji Side). You can get the C1 Line, A1 Line or A2 Line to Fuji Five Lakes. A1 or A2 are the most direct lines, taking around 1 hour and 10 minutes. The C1 Line takes around 1 hour and 30 minutes. Get off at the Fuji-Q Highland bus stop. You can’t miss it because you’ll see the roller coasters towering over everything else!
The timetable for Gotemba to Fuji-Q is available here, but you’ll need to use Google Translate to work out the bus stop names.
Where to stay in Fuji Five Lakes
We stayed at the Mt. Fuji Cabin and Lounge Highland Station Inn. This capsule hotel has separate male and female dorms. It’s right in front of Fuji-Q Highland and just around the corner from the Fuji-Q bus stop. It’s ideal for taking sightseeing buses and the Fujikyu Railway to all the main attractions.
After checking in, we had dinner at Grill Akasaka, just across the road. An older couple runs the restaurant and serves delicious traditional Japanese dishes. By now, the weather had started to clear, and we could see Mt. Fuji behind the roller coasters from the restaurant window.
Day 2 – Fuji Five Lakes Region
The weather was beautiful and clear on our second day. And we certainly made the most of it! We started early and caught the Fujikyu Railway from Fuji-Q Highland Station to Kawaguchiko Station. We had breakfast at Haostay Coffee, a lovely coffee shop selling grilled sandwiches, toast, yoghurt, and cakes.
Arakurayama Sengen Park & Fuji Five Lakes sight seeing bus
Next, we got on the train to Shimoyoshida Station. From here, we walked 20 minutes to Arakurayama Sengen Park. We got here around 9 a.m., and it wasn’t too busy.
The entrance to the park is up a steep side road. At the top of the road, head right for a viewpoint across the city and Mt. Fuji. You can take the steps from here or take the winding path to the observatory. It’s only a short walk. From here, you will get a stunning view of the iconic Chureito Pagoda with Mt. Fuji in the background. The view is one of the top 100 of Mt. Fuji in Eastern Japan.
After getting the train back to Fuji-Q Highland, we hopped on the Green Line Sightseeing Bus. This line takes you around Lake Kawaguchiko and Lake Saiko. We didn’t get off as we wanted to spend the afternoon at Fuji-Q Highland, so we just enjoyed the views from the bus. If you aren’t a fan of theme parks and would rather give Fuji-Q a miss, you could spend more time hopping on/off the bus around the lakes.
Fuji-Q Highland
We bought the afternoon pass to Fuji-Q Highland, which allows you entry from 1 p.m. The ticket price was ¥5600, including unlimited rides. You can also buy a full-day unlimited ride ticket for ¥6,000 – ¥7,800 or enter the park for free and pay per ride. The big roller coasters cost ¥2,000 per ride, so it’s well worth getting a pass.
We were there in October, and it wasn’t too busy. Our maximum wait time was probably 30 minutes. And with the rides all a short walking distance of each other, you could easily do everything in an afternoon. We got on 6 rides, including the main thrill rides, and went up Fujiyama Tower during our afternoon there.
I wasn’t sure what to expect of the park, but all the major coasters surprised me. They all had unique elements that gave them a real adrenaline rush. I’d even say it’s one of the best theme parks I’ve experienced. To top it off, you get an incredible view of Mt. Fuji from the top of the rides right before you plummet down the tracks! Fuji-Q Highland was definitely a highlight of our Fuji Hakone Pass itinerary.
After a thrilling afternoon, we had dinner at Setouchi. They served various grilled and fried fish dishes, set dishes and hot pots. I had the fried fish set meal, and my partner had the pork hot pot.
Day 3 – Fuji and Hakone
Getting to Togendai
On our final day of our Fuji Hakone Pass itinerary, we caught the early bus from the Fuji-Q bus stop back to Togendai Station. For breakfast, we picked up bao buns from the Lawson, next door to the hotel. We then took the A Line and Odakyu Highway buses, following the same route as our outward journey.
If you want to, you can hop off the Odakyu Highway bus at Sengoku. Here, you can visit the Hakone Venetian Glass Museum (Glass Forest). The museum exhibits historical pieces from the 15th to 19th centuries and pieces by contemporary artists. There is also a Venetian-style garden with glass art and glass experience workshops available.
Hakone Ropeway
We missed the glass museum and headed to Togendai to get the Hakone Ropeway. As we ascended to the volcanic steam vents of Owakudani, Mt. Fuji became increasingly visible. It took 30 minutes to reach the top. We took some time to look out over the steam vents, visit the small museum (¥100 admission), and look around the souvenir shop. You can try black eggs, which are unique to these sulphur vents!
To get down the other side to Gora, we took the Hakone Ropeway to Sounzan Station and transferred to the Hakone Cable Car to Gora. Again, this took around 30 minutes.
Gora & the Hakone Tozan Railway
Gora is an ideal place to stop for lunch. There are a few coffee shops and restaurants, or you could have a picnic at Gora Park. You can also visit The Hakone Open-Air Museum. In addition to indoor exhibits, the museum features an outdoor sculpture park and a hot spring.
To end our Fuji Hakone Pass itinerary, we took the Hakone Tozan Railway back to Odawara. The journey took around 1 hour, and the scenery from the train was lovely. If you are there from June to July, look out for Hydrangeas in bloom along the line.
Finally, we took the train back to Shinjuku and picked up our luggage from the coin locker. Then, it was on to our next Tokyo adventure!
If you enjoyed this Fuji Hakone Pass itinerary, and want more Japan travel ideas check out these posts:
How To Spend 4 Days In Kyoto: The Ultimate Kyoto Itinerary
Tokyo 7 Day Itinerary: The Best Things To Do In Tokyo
The Best Japan West All Area Pass 7 Day Itinerary
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