Fuji Lakes & Fuji-Q Amusement Park

Jump ahead:

Day 1 | Arakurayama Sengen Park, Kawaguchiko Herb Festival at Yagizaki Park, Fujisan World Heritage Center, Kawaguchiko eastern shore, Hotel Regina Kawaguchiko, Kawaguchiko Shopping Center Bell

Day 2 | Shiraito Falls, Tanukiko, Fuji Kachoen Garden Park, Motosuko, Shojiko, Saiko Iyashi no Satoneba

Final Day 3 | Fuji-Q Highlands

Wanting to explore more of the area surrounding Mt. Fuji, we decided to take a short 3-day trip by car just to slow everything down and spend some quality time there.  We didn’t make a very tight schedule or anything, we just knew of some iconic places we thought we should visit while making our way to each of the five largest lakes surrounding Mt. Fuji.  On our final day, we also threw in a full day at Fuji-Q Highlands Amusement park… it’s like a Disneyland for adults!  I guess one could title this post, things to do around Mt. Fuji that aren’t Mt. Fuji.

Day 1

Our first stop of the trip was at Arakurayama Sengen Park.  We decided to stop here because there is a very famous photo spot and view of Mt. Fuji from here.  If you’ve been on any travel websites or tourism websites for Japan, you’ve probably come across this picture because it is wildly overused (but understandingly so).  Since it fit the mood for this kind of trip, we decided to check it out for ourselves in person!

Arakurayama Sengen Park:
https://www.arakurayama-sakura.com/

On the road again!
Parking was free when we went but if you come during the sakura season I think there is a fee. Yes, it's probably more beautiful to come with the sakura in full bloom but I also like not having to deal with the crowds! When we went, there was hardly anyone here and it was still a great view for us.
Stairs from the parking lot to the shrine
Arakura Fuji Sengen Jinja
Continuing up the stairs to Chureito Pagoda
They had signs but we didn't see any...
Looking back towards the city
Hoped to not see any of these...
Chureito Pagoda from the base
To get to the popular photo area you have to go up the hill a little more behind the pagoda
Here is the photo! Taken from the observation deck on the hill
The summit just opened up enough for us to get a good view of it
Taken from another angle
Heading back down the hill
Closer look at Arakura Fuji Sengen Shrine
You can even see Fuji-san from the torii gate near the stairs

Next stop on our tour was the annual Kawaguchiko Herb Festival.  I personally wasn’t expecting too much from this as it was just a bunch of flowers in a park but it was relaxing at least and something tour groups make a point to see.  We decided to park for free at the big lot near the bridge and walked along the shoreline to Yagizaki Park (the bigger of the two venues for this event).  

Some event info:
https://www.yamanashi-kankou.jp/foreign/english/english077.html

Crossing over Kawaguchiko bridge
Walking from the parking lot along the coast
At Yagizaki park
The hydrangea were blooming nicely

At one end of the park is Kawaguchiko Muse Museum.  We took a quick peek inside just to see the gift shop but didn’t feel like seeing much else in there.

Kawaguchiko Muse Museum:
http://www.fkchannel.jp/muse/

Place to relax in front of the Muse Museum
Just random flowers in nice bloom
Western side of the park
Nice little hydrangea section on the western side of the park
Hill top at the tip of the park
Nice open field near the water
Taiko performers off and on
They also had a couple food trucks at the park
Nice and warm, just as it was starting to rain!

After the herb festival, we made a stop at the Fujisan World Heritage Center.  I always saw this on the map and thought it would be worthwhile to check out but it just never fit into any other organized trips to Mt. Fuji so this was the perfect opportunity to go.  Their new building just opened in 2016 so it still felt very fresh.  

Fujisan World Heritage Center:
http://www.fujisan-whc.jp/index.html

There's two different buildings to see, the South Hall is the newer one and the North is older
We looked in the North Hall first
Large gift shop
Displays are pretty nice, they don't seem that old really
The centerpiece of the South Hall
Very new and clean... didn't read too much into everything but still worthwhile

The center was actually really close to our hotel but it was still too early to check-in and we wanted to get lunch somewhere so we ended up driving back to Kawaguchiko, specifically the eastern most shore next to the ropeway.  We didn’t go up the ropeway but we did see some restaurants in this area on the map, plus there was easy and free parking here and it was a side I didn’t get to see before.

Free parking near the water
Various shops and restaurants along the road
Our lunch spot
Hoto set meal - like a flat udon noodle in a miso soup like base with a lot of vegetables
The deep fried smelt (fish from the lake)
A little treat for us!
Some fancy cheese cakes
More rain starting to come down
Specialty ice cream! So good!

For our hotel this trip, we went with the Hotel Regina Kawaguchiko.  The price was right, breakfast was included (makes things so much easier in the morning), and the location was a good hub to everything we were doing that weekend.  It was especially close to Fuji-Q so we could get an early start on our last day and make the most of the amusement park.  It’s an older holder but it did have a sort of resort feel to it… we really just needed a room though.  An added bonus was that it had plenty of parking and was near a shopping mall where we could easily get dinner and snacks.

Hotel Regina Kawaguchiko:
https://kawaguchiko.regina-resorts.com/

Our hotel front desk
Hotel gift shop
Hotel lobby
Big room, just one side of it
Sleeping room
Hotel view towards city
This is looking towards Mt. Fuji... nice view once the clouds open up

After resting for a little while, we decided to walk to the nearby mall to get some dinner and see what else was there.  It was in walking distance and the rain had let up so it was no problem at all.

Kawaguchiko Shopping Center BELL was in walking distance of the hotel
Just our luck, a good Sushiro! In my experience, Sushiro has been the most consistent in terms of quality for a kaiten-zushi type of place in an affordable price range
That hit the spot! I ate more but we always stack it evenly so you can't tell haha
This shingen mochi ice cream is one of my favorite ice creams... Yamanashi special!
I finally got one haha, but didn't finish all at once of course
Clouds cleared up a bit to get a night view of Fuji!

Day 2

Our rough plan for day 2 was to explore the western and northwestern areas surrounding Mt. Fuji.  First things first though, we had to eat breakfast!

Breakfast buffet was included
Not a big fan of Japanese bacon but the spread was pretty good!

Our first destination for day 2 was the famous Shiraito Falls on the western side of Mt. Fuji.  Many tour groups include this spot on their itineraries for its very photogenic (and panoramic) waterfalls.  It is also included as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  For parking, we used a smaller lot a little further west on highway 414 since there was a 50% discount there and then walked to Shiraito Falls from that side rather than the main side (really didn’t matter in the end).  This would be our starting point for the day and from here we would work our way back north and around Mt. Fuji until eventually making it back to our hotel again.

Shiraito Falls:
http://www.city.fujinomiya.lg.jp/kankou/llti2b00000018ez.html

Parking ticket

Before you go to Shiraito Falls, there’s a short detour to the left that will take you to some springs where they say Minamoto no Yoritomo (founder and first Shogun of Kamakura Shogunate) rested.  It’s not advertised much as an attraction, but it was there, and we were there, so why not?  It wasn’t far and didn’t take long to see either…

Minamoto no Yoritomo Springs:
http://www.city.fujinomiya.lg.jp/citizen/llti2b0000002q0l.html

The way down to the springs
Short stairway down to the springs
There's not much to it, but since we were here... why not.
Looking down at Shiraito Falls from the pathway
Pretty cool how far the waterfall stretches across... it wasn't crowded either except for the small group of irritating guys who went past the railing and were playing in the water and photo bombing everything
Heading back up the opposite side
One last look back at the falls

On this side where the gift shops line the road leading to the main parking lot (I guess this would be the main side), there is a slightly larger (but not as famous) waterfall called Otodome Falls.  It’s hard to get a good angle to view it as you can only see it from behind the shops on the side but it’s just another thing to enjoy while you’re here.

Otodome Falls:
http://shizuoka-guide.com/english//detail/page/detail/3675

Otodome Falls... one single waterfall but much more flow
This is the main alley with shops leading to the falls from the main parking lot
Peaceful little shop doggy

Moving right along, our next stop was at Tanukiko, our first lake of the day.  This was probably my favorite lake of them all even though we didn’t get to see much of it and it was my one and only time visiting it so far.  There seemed to be good campgrounds, nice facilities, and lots of fishing here.  One a nice day you can also get a great view of Mt. Fuji as well.  When visiting the lakes, we were only trying to get a sense of what each one was like and how they all differed from each other… I think we accomplished that by the end of the day.

More info:
http://www.city.fujinomiya.lg.jp/kankou/llti2b00000018ga.html
https://tanukiko.com/en/tanukiko/

Parking lot on the northern side of the lake
Lazy fat cat just chilling in the parking lot
Fishing looked pretty comfortable here but all the good pier space was taken obviously

Making our way back up towards our next lake, Motosuko, we made a stop at Fuji Kachoen Garden Park.  This is a large flower and bird garden and since Marie enjoys both we thought it worthwhile to take some time here.  They really highlight the owls and flowers here but there’s a little more than that and overall it was actually better than I expected.  I would also recommend taking some time here if you enjoy these sort of things.

Fuji Kachoen Garden Park:
http://kamoltd.co.jp/fuji_en/

Entrance to the owl hall and garden park
Small gift shop stands
Pretty humid green house, ton of flowers everywhere
Feeding cage
You can purchase small cups of food for feeding inside the caged area
Naughty bird
Warm weather penguins?
Grouchy one hehe
There's a small walking path out back with a pond and some emu (random)
Emu area
Big Emu, kind of a random thing here
Must be a great place for families and kids
Cool birds
Much of the indoor area is dedicated to owls
Baby owl
Main gift shop near entrance/exit

Our next lake was one that I’ve researched before, specifically for camping, but we never did make it out there.  Lake Motosu is on the northwestern side of Mt. Fuji… just far enough from home where it never seems worth the drive to camp for just a night or two.  There’s not a whole lot to see around the lake, which I kind of like, and for camping there are some good facilities and services such as kayaking and fishing that are available.  We always considered camping at the northern part of the lake but after driving around it on this trip, the southern part doesn’t look too bad either.  This is also the lake where you can recapture the image on the back of the ¥1000 bill… the lookout being closer to the northern shore (we didn’t bother stopping for this picture though, too crowded).

Drove around the lake to check out campsites and then made a quick stop on the eastern side (near the main road) to take a quick picture

Right next to Motosuko is Lake Shoji.  This one was really tiny so there wasn’t much to see and it didn’t take long at all to drive around.  We got out just to stretch our legs and take a picture.  There were a lot of paddlers in the water training for some kind of race it seemed.  I also remember seeing a lot of fishermen here tucked away along the shore as we drove.  I was always under the impression you need permits to fish in the lakes but it doesn’t seem like anyone would enforce that anyway.

Not much going on at this lake but there seemed to be a lot of little inlets good for people fishing

Before hitting our next lake, we made a pit stop at another old village attraction called Saiko Iyashi no Satoneba, also known as the healing village.  We had some lunch here and then paid to walk around the village and look at old fashioned homes.  There were a few gift shops (where we also bought some unnatural used tableware hehe) as well as food shops scattered throughout the village too.  We didn’t have high expectations going into it… just something to see while we were there but it ended up being a pretty nice experience, even comparable to Shirakawago but a little more touristy and slightly different style.

Saiko Iyashi no Satoneba:
http://www.fujisan.ne.jp/iyashi/

At the parking lot
Japan is becoming more supportive lately
Quick lunch
More healthy hoto... when in Yamanashi!
Pathway leading to the village entrance
Entrance
Ticket stand
Pretty well maintained village
Just a bunch of old style homes on display
Small shops... we also found some unexpected used plates and bowls here
Old forms of games and entertainment
Snack time!

After the village, we drove around Lake Saiko and Kawaguchiko along highway 21 and then a loop around Yamanakako.  We didn’t notice anything that seemed really worth stopping for so we were satisfied with just driving around the lakes without stopping to take pictures really.  Along the way we stopped at a Starbucks in Fuji Yoshida to look at their cups but ended up just getting another affogato frappuccino hehe.  

I never used to drink Starbucks much (and still don't) but in Japan it's one of a few places where you can at least get a larger coffee

We were pretty satisfied with our day by this point and it was getting to be late afternoon so we went back to our hotel to relax before going out for dinner.  Somehow the Sushiro was so good the night before I wanted it again so we ended up going back for dinner again hehe.  We also stopped into the mall again for some other items before finally calling it a night.

Back at the hotel
Nice to come back to a great view
Don't know why but I wanted sushi again lol
This stupid machine got the best of me the night before but...
I bested it the second night! Actually, this place kind of cheats with non-slip padding
Perfect night view to end the night, super clear

Final Day 3 - Fuji-Q Highlands Amusement Park

Our final day was all about Fuji-Q.  I’ve been wanting to go here especially because it seemed more fun than Disneyland and they actually have adult rides.  Since we went on a Monday, it wasn’t as crowded as usual and although some lines were still long, we got to ride everything that we wanted to.  I think longer lines have the added effect of leaving you to think longer about your impending doom haha… I was actually getting scared of some rides here!  That, and each of the rides have their own little theme songs playing on loop so it’s added torture (in a good way though haha).  Having nice weather was also a plus since we were kind of worried about the rain before the weekend.  My body is definitely not what it used to be because by the end of the day I was actually feeling a little sick from all the rides haha… That being said, this was probably still the best amusement park I’ve been to in my adult life and it is definitely world class.

Fuji-Q Website:
https://www.fujiq.jp/en/

Last morning, getting a hearty breakfast in before the roller coasters
We actually bought our tickets through our hotel for a discounted price
Got there early and with good weather too!
Main gift shop at the entrance
Lisa and Gaspard Town
The pathway leading up to the main ticket gates are all shops with the Lisa and Gaspard theme
Traded our hotel pass for actual tickets
It looks crowded but it actually wasn't that bad once inside... way better than Disney Sea anyway
We started on Takabisha which is pretty much the best way to get your blood flowing to start the day... it's a 121 degree drop which means you're going beyond just straight down hehe
Funny signs... at least they had them in English too
Takabisha in the background with the 121 degree drop
Make sure you follow all the rules
Dododonpa! Definitely the fastest ride here and fastest acceleration in the world... pretty straight forwards except for when they give you the surprise start! They don't always go on "1". Most rides will have those little lockers for you to put small items in too.
Dododonpa from the outside
Fujiyama line... this one was definitely jerky.
This was more of the classic roller coaster ride... probably my least favorite one but still one that you should do I guess? hehe
Kind of like splash mountain
Just walking to the next one was making me a little nervous
Oohhhh Eejanaika! Eejanaika! This is the one that freaked me out the most... also because I've never ridden anything like this one before. It supposedly has the most revolutions in the world too. "Come on, it's ok" they say... haha so evil.
By now the lines were getting a little longer but glad we could still cover all the major rides in one day... let's get this ride over with!
Survived!
This one is just called the Red Tower - free fall... everything was easy after the last ride haha
Lunch time!
I probably should've waited two hours after eating this thing before riding ehehe
Needed that shake to battle the heat outside but maybe I ate too much haha
Unfortunately, Mt. Fuji was covered by the clouds.
Another food court area... just walking around trying to let lunch settle before riding something else
If you weren't feeling sick already, this one will do the trick...
Basically, you try to do as many corkscrews as possible... the put up an evil record board too so it's like a competition for the day
One of our last rides for the day... starting to feel a little sick already bleh
One last picture with the rides!
Stopped into the shops on the way out...
Some of our souvenirs

Overall, a very complete, nice, relaxing, and fun getaway for the weekend.  I would definitely recommend people spending more than a day in the area just getting to see the sights around Mt. Fuji and what they have to offer (if they can afford the time). 

The next trip planned will be back in Fuji Yoshida for the annual fire festival so stay tuned!

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