Lake Saiko guide: caves, Nenba village, kayaks and camping

Saiko Bat Cave is more than 350 m⁷ long and is the largest lava cave at the foot of Mt Fuji, as well as a national natural monument. The Nature Center opens 9:00–17:00 from March to November, with no closing days⁸, and the last entry to the cave is at 16:30⁷.

From December to February, the Nature Center itself opens 9:30–16:30 and closes on Wednesdays⁸.

Kunimasu Exhibition Hall

The Kunimasu Exhibition Hall tells the story of a fish that came back from the dead. Kunimasu, a trout native to Lake Tazawa in Akita, was thought to have died out around 1940⁵. Then a 2010⁵ survey confirmed it was living here.

The hall opened on 27 April 2016¹⁰. It has tanks where you can see live kunimasu and other fish from the lake, plus panels on their habitat and history¹⁰.

• Usual hours: 9:00–17:00, last entry 16:00¹⁰.
• Winter: 9:00–16:00 from 1 December to 19 March, and closed every Wednesday¹⁰ in that period.

• March to November: 9:00–17:00, last entry 16:30¹⁷.
• December to February: 9:30–16:30, last entry 16:00¹⁷.
• No regular closing days, though it may close temporarily from time to time¹⁷.
• Parking is free¹⁷.

In winter, the whole village is covered in snow¹⁵. Read the Saiko Iyashi no Sato Nenba visitor guide before you go.

Entry fees around the lake

Getting into the sights around the lake is cheap. Most of the prices below come from the attractions’ own sites. The Bat Cave price comes from the guidebook Mapple, because there’s no official figure to check it against.

Compare hotels on the where to stay page. If you’d like a traditional inn, read how to choose a ryokan in Kawaguchiko.

Saiko Kohan Campsite

Saiko Kohan Campsite faces the lake at 902 m²⁵. It has 41 bungalows and three covered self-catering areas²⁵, so rain won’t stop you cooking dinner.

You can book a bungalow through the online form, or by phone, which the campsite says is quicker for holidays or checking availability²⁷. Enquiries are taken 7:00–21:00²⁷. Check the calendar too, because the site is sometimes reserved in full for groups on the dates shown²⁸.

Saiko Camp Village Gnome

Saiko Camp Village Gnome pitches itself at families and couples, and it’s where the Gnome kayaks in the table above are rented.

For families, Gnome says children play on their own: football in the play park, climbing the tree house and SUP on the lake²⁹.

For couples, it suggests kayaking in the morning, a hammock nap at midday, a forest sauna in the evening and then the hot spring a few minutes’ walk away²⁹.

1. 1

   Tokyo to Kawaguchiko Station

   Highway buses from Shinjuku take about 1 hour 45 minutes; the train takes about 2 hours 10 minutes.

2. 2

   Green Line bus to the lake

   Saiko Bat Cave is 34 minutes by bus from Kawaguchiko Station, right by the Saiko Komoriana stop.

3. 3

   Get off at your stop

   Stop 45 for Saiko Bat Cave, stop 51 for Fugaku Wind Cave. Saiko Wild Bird Forest Park is 43 minutes from the station.

4. 4

   Buy a bus pass

   The 1-Day Pass for the Kawaguchiko, Saiko and Lake Motosu sightseeing buses is ¥1,500 (child ¥750); the 2-Day Pass is ¥2,000 (child ¥1,000).

If you’re driving, allow around 1 hour 30 minutes³⁰ to Kawaguchiko I.C. on the Chuo Expressway. Parking at Nenba is free. To see how Saiko compares with the other bases, see the areas page.