Interesting Mount Fuji Day Trip From Tokyo

If you’re looking to take a day trip outside Tokyo, you should try the Mount Fuji Day Trip From Tokyo, which includes a visit to Hakone. We took the tour after our recent cruise to Japan and had a wonderful day. Here’s how it went.

Once we got some photos of the mountain, plus some selfies with it, we browsed the shops. Food and souvenirs are available, plus a cool sign for taking selfies with.

Noting the red torii gate and knowing that it was the entrance to a shrine, we went through it and followed a path that led through the forest to a beautiful little Shinto shrine. There, we tossed a coin and made a wish, then went back down to the village to get an ice cream cone.

Ultimate Cruise Planner

Need a little assistance organizing and planning your cruise? Our Ultimate Cruise Planner can help!

Learn More

Lunch at Shinobi village

We reboarded the bus and wound our way downward for a while until we reached the Shinobi Village, our hosts for lunch. There we feasted on a buffet and were also treated to a hot pot.

Shinobi No Sato Ninja Village

We explored the restaurant building, which had interesting samurai displays, and then took a short stroll through their garden. Next to the garden is a ninja area, where tourists’ children were dressed as ninjas and taken through a little ninja course. It was amusing to watch, and the children were having a great time. Highly recommend it if you have small children.

Want to know more? Visit Viator for all the details.

Owaku-Dani Valley

After lunch, we venture into the Owaku-dani Valley, also known as the Valley of Hell. The valley is actually a volcanic crater formed from the eruption of Mount Hakone about 3,000 years ago, and it is still steaming.

There we were encouraged to try a kuro tamago, a black egg believed to grant you a longer and healthier life. We passed on the egg but enjoyed the views.

Adjacent to the tourist area is a working sulfur mine. The sulfurous gases enveloped the area, making it difficult to stay there long. It was interesting, so we took a few pictures but then moved on.

Hakone Ropeway

Our next stop was the Hakone Ropeway, a gondola ride up the mountain that provided stunning views of the valley below.

Cruise on Lake Ashi

Our next adventure was a cruise on Lake Ashi, a crater lake, on a replica of a pirate ship. The ship had four levels and could handle hundreds of passengers.

While on Lake Ashi, we saw the famous red torii gate in the water that leads to the Hakone Shrine, Heiwa no Torii, which is pictured below.

Ride The Bullet Train

At the end of the way, we boarded the bullet train, also known as Shinkansen, to whisk us back to Shinjuku station, where we changed trains to take us to Tokyo Station. The ride on the 200-mph train was only thirty minutes, compared to the two and a half hours that the same ride took on the bus.

The train was clean and looked brand new, and the passengers were all very quiet, as is the custom on trains in Japan.

When we arrived at Tokyo Station, it took us a while to find the right exit that is closest to our hotel in Ginza, but we managed. It was a one-mile walk back to our hotel, which was fascinating. It was dark but we felt completely safe in this huge city, surrounded by commuters trudging home alongside us.

Our Favorite Parts of the Tour

Seeing Mount Fuji was nice, although not as exciting as the professional photos you see. What really interested us the most about the day was the journey itself, taking us through the countryside of Japan.

We saw beautiful vistas, like the field and hills seen below, as well as mountains and rice being grown, which wasn’t at all like we expected. Rice is grown in paddies, we thought, right? Now it’s grown in fields. We saw rice in various stages of production as we rode by, from cultivation to harvest. It was quite interesting.