Day tour
Private guided hidden gems tour by local English speaking driver
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Kawaguchi Asama Shrine: cedars, hours and how to get there
Day tour
Private guided hidden gems tour by local English speaking driver
From US$226.54
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See dates on Viator
Kawaguchi Asama Shrine
Photo: Google Maps- Type
- Shinto shrine
- Address
- 1 Kawaguchi, Fujikawaguchiko, Minamitsuru District, Yamanashi 401-0304
- Area
- Oishi Park (north shore)
- Google rating
- 4.5 (2,382 reviews) on Google Maps, checked October 2026
- On the map
- Open in Google Maps
| Day | Hours |
|---|---|
| Monday | 09:00–16:00 |
| Tuesday | 09:00–16:00 |
| Wednesday | 09:00–16:00 |
| Thursday | 09:00–16:00 |
| Friday | 09:00–16:00 |
| Saturday | 09:00–16:00 |
| Sunday | 09:00–16:00 |
Fuji worship and old cedars
History, Fuji worship and the sacred cedars
Built the year after the 864 eruption1
Kawaguchi Asama Shrine is one of about 1,3002 Asama shrines in Japan. It’s part of the Mount Fuji UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, designated in 20132.
The shrine enshrines Asama Ōkami, the god of Mount Fuji. Its site, looking at the mountain across the lake, was chosen partly to protect it from further eruptions.
What to look for in the grounds:
- The approach, lined with sacred cedars.
- The Seven Cedars, thought to be about 1,200 years old3 and listed as a Yamanashi Prefecture natural monument.
- The matchmaking cedars (en-musubi no sugi): two of the seven stand side by side1 and are popular under that name.
- Haha no Shirataki waterfall, deep in the shrine forest, long used for mountain ascetic practice and water purification.
Before you go
Opening hours, morning zazen and winter visits
You can walk into the shrine grounds at any hour. The shrine says it has no fence or gate, so you can visit whenever you like4.
Town site lists 9:00–16:003
The Fujikawaguchiko town tourism site lists hours of 9:00–16:00 (checked October 2026), and says the shrine is open every day of the year3. Plan on that window if you want the shrine buildings staffed.
Two rituals worth timing a visit around:
- Zazen meditation is held every morning from 6:005, with Fuji prayers (norito) handed down only at this shrine.
- The Chigo no Mai children’s dance is performed twice a year, once before the April 256 “grandchild-viewing” ritual.
Winter at the Asama shrine at Kawaguchiko is cold. January averages a daily low of −5.7 °C7, so bring proper layers for the walk among the cedars.
By bus or car
How do you get to the shrine from Kawaguchiko Station?
Take a bus from Kawaguchiko Station. The prefecture’s route is 20 minutes by bus to Kawaguchi Post Office (Kawaguchi Yubinkyoku-mae), then a 3-minute1 walk.
20 min by bus from Kawaguchiko Station1
| Route | Ride | Get off or park | Walk | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bus from Kawaguchiko Station | 20 minutes | Kawaguchi Post Office (Kawaguchi Yubinkyoku-mae) | 3 minutes | yamanashi-kankou.jp (official) |
| Red Line loop bus | about 30 minutes | Kubota Itchiku Art Museum | 25 minutes | fujisan.ne.jp (official) |
| Car from Kawaguchiko IC | about 10–20 minutes | Shrine car park, 60 regular cars | – | fujisan.ne.jp (official); yamanashi-kankou.jp (official) |
fujisan.ne.jp (official); yamanashi-kankou.jp (official)
The town tourism site sends you on the Red Line loop bus to the Kubota Itchiku Art Museum stop instead, which means a much longer walk. That route makes sense if you’re seeing the museum first. For passes and stops, see the Red Line loop bus and other lake routes.
Coming from Tokyo first? Lake Kawaguchi is the easiest of the Fuji Five Lakes to reach8. Express buses from Shinjuku reach Kawaguchiko Station in about 1 hour 45 minutes9, and the train takes about 2 hours 10 minutes10.
The bus and train times from Shinjuku have their own page.
Walk on to the waterfall
Haha no Shirataki and other sights nearby
Haha no Shirataki Shrine, by the waterfall in the hills behind the main shrine, is a 30-minute walk or a 10-minute drive11 away.
30 min on foot from the main shrine11
Japan’s national tourism organisation suggests heading up to the falls after the shrine grounds. The waterfall sits at the end of a narrow trail along the Mitsutoge Pass.
Two things to know about places linked to the shrine:
- The shrine says the Tenku no Torii, a Mount Fuji worship site, is not owned or run by the shrine3.
- An affiliated shrine on Cape Ubuyagasaki honours Ugayafukiaezu no Mikoto, the grandson of the flower goddess.
Other sights with their own pages:
- Itchiku Kubota Art Museum: its bus stop is a 25-minute walk3 from the shrine on the town site’s route. Read the museum visit tips and nearby sights.
- Oishi Park, the lakeside park on the north shore.
- Mt Fuji Panoramic Ropeway: check the Mt Fuji ropeway hours and fees before you go.
- Fuji Shibazakura Festival, for a spring trip: see the festival hours and entry fees.
For everything else around the lake, browse the things to do in full.
Book a driver
A guided visit with a local driver
If you’d rather not juggle buses, a private driver-guided tour starting in Kawaguchiko lists Kawaguchi Sengen Shrine and Hahanoshirataki Waterfall among its stops. It’s priced per group, so it works best if you’re travelling with others.
Questions people ask
Is the Asama shrine at Kawaguchiko worth visiting?
It's part of the Mount Fuji UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site, and its Seven Cedars are thought to be about 1,200 years old.
Which shrine heads the Asama shrines?
Fujisan Hongū Sengen Taisha is the head shrine of the roughly 1,300 Asama or Sengen shrines; Wikipedia says Mount Fuji from the 8th station up counts as its grounds.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons. Authors and licences: image credits
Checked against 13 sources · last checked October 2026
- yamanashi-kankou.jp (official) · checked October 2026
- yamanashi-kankou.jp (official) · checked October 2026
- fujisan.ne.jp (official) · checked October 2026
- Kawaguchi Asama Shrine (asamajinja.or.jp) (official) · checked October 2026
- yamanashi-kankou.jp (official) · checked October 2026
- mlit.go.jp (official) · checked October 2026
- data.jma.go.jp (official) · checked October 2026
- Wikivoyage · checked October 2026
- Travel Japan (japan.travel) (official) · checked October 2026
- yamanashi-kankou.jp (official) · checked October 2026
- Kawaguchi Asama Shrine (asamajinja.or.jp) (official) · checked October 2026
- Wikipedia · checked October 2026
- Google Maps listings via DataForSEO · checked October 2026
Page history · last changed 20 October 2026
- Updated: new sections: History, Fuji worship and the sacred cedars; Opening hours, morning zazen and winter visits; How do you get to the shrine from Kawaguchiko Station?; …, 5 sections removed, 6 sourced facts added, 10 removed.
- First written
