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Fujikawaguchiko town spread along Lake Kawaguchi, autumn-coloured hills behind

Kawaguchiko 2 day itinerary: lake shore and Chureito Pagoda

Last checked: October 2026

Illustrated poster: 2D1N itinerary, Day 1, Kawaguchiko. 1. Oishi Park, then 3 min to stop 2. 2. Itchiku Kubota Art Museum, then 1 min to stop 3. 3. Lake Kawaguchi Maple Corridor, then 1 min to stop 4. 4. Cafe mimi, then 1 min to stop 5. 5. Kawaguchiko Music Forest Museum, then 1 min to stop 6. 6. Kawaguchiko Museum of Art, then 7 min to stop 7. 7. Mt. Fuji Hostel Michael's. kawaguchikotrip.com.
Illustrated poster: 2D1N itinerary, Day 2, Kawaguchiko. Start at Mt. Fuji Hostel Michael's, 10 min to stop 1. 1. Oshino Hakkai, then 15 min to stop 2. 2. Arakura Fuji Sengen Shrine, then 2 min to stop 3. 3. Chureito Pagoda, then 7 min to stop 4. 4. Hotou Fudo Kawaguchiko Station, then 2 min to stop 5. 5. Kawaguchiko Tenjoyama Park, then 1 min to stop 6. 6. Lake Kawaguchiko Sightseeing Boat. kawaguchikotrip.com.

Stops and drives

The plan, day by day

A plan built from public sources: opening hours from Google Maps and driving times from OpenRouteService routes (no traffic). Not a trip report.

Day 1

  1. AttractionOishi Park (north shore)

    Oishi Park

    Opening hours: Mon–Sun 00:00–24:0010

    Open in Google Maps

  2. About 3 min by car, 2 km1

  3. AttractionOishi Park (north shore)

    Itchiku Kubota Art Museum

    Opening hours: Mon 10:00–17:00; Tue closed; Wed–Sun 10:00–17:0010

    Closed on Tuesday

    Open in Google Maps

  4. About 1 min by car, 0.4 km1

  5. AttractionOishi Park (north shore)

    Lake Kawaguchi Maple Corridor

    Opening hours: Mon–Sun 00:00–24:0010

    Open in Google Maps

  6. About 1 min by car, 0.4 km1

  7. Meal stopOishi Park (north shore)

    Cafe mimi

    Opening hours: Mon–Sun 09:00–17:3010

    Open in Google Maps

  8. About 1 min by car, 0.5 km1

  9. AttractionOishi Park (north shore)

    Kawaguchiko Music Forest Museum

    Opening hours: Mon 10:00–17:30; Tue–Wed closed; Thu–Sun 10:00–17:3010

    Closed on Tuesday, Wednesday

    Open in Google Maps

  10. About 1 min by car, 0.5 km1

  11. AttractionOishi Park (north shore)

    Kawaguchiko Museum of Art

    Opening hours: Mon 09:30–17:00; Tue closed; Wed–Sun 09:30–17:0010

    Closed on Tuesday

    Open in Google Maps

  12. About 7 min by car, 5 km1

  13. Where to sleepShimoyoshida, Fujiyoshida

    Mt. Fuji Hostel Michael's

Day 2

  1. From Mt. Fuji Hostel Michael's
  2. About 10 min by car, 9 km1

  3. Attraction

    Oshino Hakkai

    Opening hours: Mon–Sun 00:00–24:0010

    Time to spend: The bus ride from Fujisan Station to the Oshino Hakkai Iriguchi stop takes 20 minutes.8

    Open in Google Maps

  4. About 15 min by car, 9 km1

  5. AttractionShimoyoshida (Fujiyoshida)

    Arakura Fuji Sengen Shrine

    Opening hours: Mon–Sun 09:00–16:0010

    Open in Google Maps

  6. About 2 min by car, 0.5 km1

  7. AttractionShimoyoshida (Fujiyoshida)

    Chureito Pagoda

    Opening hours: Mon–Sun 00:00–24:0010

    Open in Google Maps

  8. About 7 min by car, 4 km1

  9. Meal stopKawaguchiko Station

    Hotou Fudo Kawaguchiko Station

    Opening hours: Mon–Sun 11:00–19:0010

    Open in Google Maps

  10. About 2 min by car, 1 km1

  11. AttractionKawaguchiko Station

    Kawaguchiko Tenjoyama Park

    Opening hours: Mon–Sun 08:00–18:0010

    Open in Google Maps

  12. About 1 min by car, 0.4 km1

  13. AttractionKawaguchiko Station

    Lake Kawaguchiko Sightseeing Boat

    Open in Google Maps

Map of this plan: the stops in visit order, numbered as in the day-by-day plan.

Drawn to scale from the stops' map locations. Dashed lines join two stops in a straight line, not along the road.

Route logic

Why the stops run in this order

Each day stays in one corner of the area, so you spend your time at the stops, not on the road.

Longest hop: about 15 min by car, 9 km1

  • Oishi Park first. Oishi Park is open to walk around at any time2, so it works as the opening stop, before the museums along the shore open.
  • One shore for the first day. The longest hop between its sights is Oishi Park to Itchiku Kubota Art Museum, about 3 min by car, 2 km1. Cafe mimi sits midway as the lunch stop.
  • The night halfway. From Kawaguchiko Museum of Art the hostel is about 7 min by car, 5 km1, which leaves the Fujiyoshida side for the morning.
  • The longest drive. Oshino Hakkai to Arakura Fuji Sengen Shrine is about 15 min by car, 9 km1. Chureito Pagoda is then just about 2 min by car, 0.5 km1 further on.
  • Ending by the station. Kawaguchiko Tenjoyama Park and the sightseeing boat are about 1 min by car, 0.4 km1 apart, close to the trains and buses home.
Brick path between flower beds along the Lake Kawaguchi shore at Oishi Park, cherry blossom
Brick path between flower beds along the Lake Kawaguchi shore at Oishi Park, cherry blossom

You reach the observation deck above Chureito Pagoda by climbing 398 steps3, so save some energy for it. Read more on Chureito Pagoda and more on Oshino Hakkai before you go.

Chureito Pagoda with snow-capped Mt Fuji behind
Chureito Pagoda with snow-capped Mt Fuji behind

Buses and walks

Can you follow this plan without a car?

Mostly, yes: the red Kawaguchiko Line bus runs every 15 minutes4 along the eastern and northern shores of the lake. The drive times in the plan are car routes with no traffic, so allow longer by bus.

Red Line bus every 15 minutes4

  • North shore: the Red Line bus loop circles the northern shore, including Oishi Park5, and reaches the Maple Corridor from Kawaguchiko Station in about 20 minutes6.
  • By boat: since 17 July 20267 the Oishi Park Line boat has shuttled between Funatsu pier and Oishi Park.
  • Oshino Hakkai: the bus from Fujisan Station to the Oshino Hakkai Iriguchi stop takes 20 minutes8.
  • Chureito Pagoda: the pagoda is about 25 minutes on foot3 from Shimoyoshida Station on the Fujikyu Railway Line.
  • Bus pass: the Fujikyu Bus Kawaguchiko・Saiko・Motosuko area pass covers the Red Line9.
Deguchi Pond at Oshino Hakkai: clear spring water and trout under green woods, small red torii behind
Deguchi Pond at Oshino Hakkai: clear spring water and trout under green woods, small red torii behind

Timing your trip

Which days and season suit the plan

Plan your first day for any day from Thursday to Monday, because the north-shore museums take their days off midweek.

Leaves peak late October to mid-November6

Museum Weekly day off
Itchiku Kubota Art Museum
Tuesday10
Kawaguchiko Music Forest Museum
Tuesday and Wednesday10
Kawaguchiko Museum of Art
Tuesday10

Autumn is the busy season. The town tourism site says the Maple Corridor leaves usually peak from late October to mid-November6. Traffic around the lakes is heavy on public holidays and during the autumn leaves season11.

Winters here are extremely cold13, with a January average low of −5.7 °C14. The Appare boat also keeps winter hours from November to March15, so check its last sailing before you plan the final stop.

The overnight

Where to sleep on the night

About 10 min by car to Oshino Hakkai1

The plan’s night stop is Mt. Fuji Hostel Michael’s in Shimoyoshida, Fujiyoshida. From there Oshino Hakkai is about 10 min by car, 9 km1, so the second day starts close to its first sight.

If you’d rather sleep somewhere else, look around the Shimoyoshida side of Fujiyoshida or compare hostel options around the lake.

From Tokyo

Getting there and back

Bus from Shinjuku: about 1 hour 45 minutes19

  1. Tokyo to Kawaguchiko Station

    Highway buses from Shinjuku take about 1 hour 45 minutes; the Fuji Excursion limited express takes 1 hour 53 minutes at its fastest.

  2. Driving instead

    By car, Kawaguchiko I.C. on the Chuo Expressway is around 1 hour 30 minutes away.

  3. Station to Oishi Park

    The retro sightseeing bus from Kawaguchiko Station takes about 30 minutes to Oishi Park.

  4. Last day: bags and the ride home

    Coin lockers on the 1st floor of the Fuji Kanko Building, in front of Kawaguchiko Station, hold bags. The boat pier is about 1 min by car, 0.9 km from the station.

Lake Kawaguchi is the easiest of the five lakes to reach11. For every bus, train and fare from Tokyo, see the getting there guide.

Fares and fees

What it costs

The table covers the fares and fees along the route. The night itself isn’t priced here.

Appare boat: ¥1,000 adult15

Fares and fees along the route

TicketAdultChild
Fuji Excursion train, Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko, one way
¥4,200
–
Appare sightseeing boat
¥1,000
¥500
Oishi Park Line boat
¥1,000
¥500
Panoramic Ropeway return, fare until the November change
¥1,000
–
Panoramic Ropeway return, new fare from November
¥1,200
–
Staffed luggage storage by the station, per bag
¥500–800
–
Coin locker in front of the station
¥500–800
–

Fujikyu Railway (operator); Fujigoko Kisen (operator); mtfujiropeway.jp (operator); MATCHA (operator)

Preschool children ride the Appare boat free16. The Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway isn’t a stop in the plan, but it’s about 1 min by car, 0.2 km1 from the boat and takes 3 minutes17 up Mt Tenjo. Its adult return fare changes on 1 November 202618 (checked October 2026).

Questions people ask

Where can you go in Kawaguchiko at night?

During the Fuji-Kawaguchiko Autumn Leaves Festival, November 7 to November 29 in 2026, the illumination runs from sunset to 21:00.

Is there a currency exchange near Kawaguchiko Station?

Fujikanko Kaihatsu says there is a currency exchange machine at the Fuji Kanko Building, in front of the station.

Photos: Wikimedia Commons and Pexels. Authors and licences: image credits

Checked against 24 sources · last checked October 2026
  1. OpenRouteService (route data © OpenStreetMap contributors) · checked October 2026
  2. gltjp.com (travel guide) · checked October 2026
  3. fujiyoshida.net (official) · checked October 2026
  4. japan-guide.com (travel guide) · checked October 2026
  5. Fujikyu Bus (operator) · checked October 2026
  6. fujisan.ne.jp (official) · checked October 2026
  7. Fujigoko Kisen (operator) · checked October 2026
  8. Travel Japan (japan.travel) (official) · checked October 2026
  9. ticket.jorudan.co.jp (booking agent) · checked October 2026
  10. Google Maps listings via DataForSEO · checked October 2026
  11. Wikivoyage · checked October 2026
  12. fujisan.ne.jp (official) · checked October 2026
  13. yamanashi-kankou.jp (official) · checked October 2026
  14. data.jma.go.jp (official) · checked October 2026
  15. Fujigoko Kisen (operator) · checked October 2026
  16. Fujigoko Kisen (operator) · checked October 2026
  17. mtfujiropeway.jp (operator) · checked October 2026
  18. mtfujiropeway.jp (operator) · checked October 2026
  19. Travel Japan (japan.travel) (official) · checked October 2026
  20. Fujikyu Railway (operator) · checked October 2026
  21. yamanashi-kankou.jp (official) · checked October 2026
  22. wd.fujikanko.co.jp (operator) · checked October 2026
  23. MATCHA (operator) · checked October 2026
  24. fujisan.ne.jp (official) · checked October 2026
Page history · last changed 20 October 2026
  • Itineraries updated (p2 --itineraries); Updated: new sections: The plan, day by day; Can you follow this plan without a car?; Which days and season suit the plan; …, 6 sections removed, 17 sourced facts added, 27 removed.
  • First written