Why Kawaguchiko?

Last year on my trip to Hakone to see Mount Fuji, it was ruined by bad weather and we didn’t manage to see the mountain at all. Thus I decided to revisit Mount Fuji again as a ‘revenge’. I set up a target to get a good photo of ‘double Fuji’, which means Mount Fuji and its reflection on a lake. Therefore Lake Kawaguchi, or Kawaguchiko, is the most suitable destination to achieve this purpose – and I determined not to lose to the weather this time. I planned to stay 3 nights here, with a hope that I will at least getting one clear day to take photos. 33% chance! Historical data also shows that you’re more likely to get good weather on winter.

Getting to Kawaguchiko

I came to Kawaguchiko from Nozawa Onsen. I searched for the most time efficient route, and turns out taking the same shinkansen back from Iiyama to Tokyo, and then connect to Kawaguchiko by bus is the most efficient way. You can take the bus from Shinjuku station or Shibuya station, and I highly recommend that you book the ticket in advance. I walked in instead of buying online and I ended up delaying my schedule by 2 hours because of the bus availability. Thus I arrived at Kawaguchiko rather late, around 6.30 pm, where the retro buses schedule have finished, and I have to take taxi to my hotel.

Stay

Remember my target to shot a double Fuji? To do that, you need to be located at the north of the lake because the mountain is at south. Therefore it is beneficial if you stay in a hotel that is located around the north side of the lake, so that it is easier for you to get into your vantage point. Based on this criteria, I found this little gem, Tominoko Hotel. (it is labeled A3 on this map below)

Tominoko Hotel is located at the north shore of Kawaguchi. It is a western-style hotel. Its price is quite reasonable too, which is around 95 SGD/person/night for twin room. They don’t have single room, so I had to pay two-person price. However if you compare with hotels around that area (the more luxurious ryokan Kukuna on the left or Kozantei Ubuya on the right), this hotel is really a good value.

In terms of photographic standpoint, my room has a Mount Fuji and the lake view. Also, going out of the front door and cross the road will immediately take you to the lakeside walkway, where you can take photographs conveniently. The best vantage point in my opinion is in front of Kozantei Ubuya, but it was just a short walk away from my hotel so it’s not a big deal.

And what about that for the hotel’s public bath.

Chureito Pagoda

I was lucky. My first day in Kawaguchiko was a perfect day, sunny and clear, and there was not even a single cloud in the sky. I was taking photos of the sunrise from the walkway in front of the hotel, however the lake was not too calm and I did not get a good reflection.

Since the weather was so good I decided to tackle the furthest destination on my list which is the Chureito Pagoda. It is part of Asakura Sengen Shrine, and it is accessible by train from Kawaguchiko station. Take the train to Sumiyoshida station, ¥300 one-way, and follow the instructions to walk over to the shrine.

Be prepared to climb steep 100-steps stairs! I have to admit that I struggled to climb that stairs, taking multiple rests on the way, thanks to my ski-feet and carrying DSLR + tripod. I went there in full winter gear, beanie + scarf + gloves and I took them all off halfway because I was sweating a lot.

It was worth it.

I can’t imagine how pretty this place will be in sakura season.

Kachi-kachi Ropeway and Pleasure Boat

I spent around two hours in Chureito Pagoda. I went back after eating lunch in Sumiyoshida station, taking the same train back to Kawaguchiko station. The next destination on the list is Kachi-kachi Ropeway. The red retro bus will take you there, at stop #11 (my hotel is stop #14).

I bought the combo ticket of the ropeway and the pleasure boat, since the weather is good. A 2-minute cable car ride will bring you to Mt. Tenjo, where you can see the Kawaguchiko area from heights. Actually there was not a lot of things to see on top, there were a few good photo spots and that’s it. There was a hiking trail that goes to the peak of Mt. Tenjo itself, however the ground was snowy, muddy and slippery that day and I decided not to hike.

Once I went down I get into the next scheduled boat ride. It was a pleasant 20-minute ride to the middle of the lake, thanks to the great weather. It was cold though, since the wind was strong. I took a few photos along the ride.

With the two important destination conquered, and it’s still around 3 pm, I decided to walk along the shores of the lake, enjoying the weather and hunting for a good vantage point for sunset later. It was really nice to stroll alone along the beautiful lake, enjoying the views, stepping in snow, taking photographs, etc. I walked a big round from the boat place, all the way to my hotel, all the way to the highway bridge and crossed it, until I arrive at the other side of the lake. Then I tracked back to the front Kozantei Ubuya since that place was the best vantage point I found.

Double Fuji

Sunset at winter occurs around 5.20 pm local time. I camped at Kozantei Ubuya, tripod and DSLR set up and phone ready in my pocket. Although I had the good weather, I did not consider the possibility of getting a calm lake, and it was very windy that day. So instead of getting a perfect reflection, what I got was a perfect shadow of the mountain as the sun went down and the man-made lights started to appear. I declared that I got a sunset-style double Fuji, which was quite something.

Iyashi no Sato

The next day, I was unlucky. It was cloudy all day. The day actually started off rather well, with only a few clouds in the morning, and I actually got a pretty nice double Fuji shot from my balcony. It seemed to me that some parts of the lake froze overnight that made the lake somewhat calm.

I decided to go to Lake Saiko to explore, using the green retro bus. My hotel gave me a free shuttle ride to Kawaguchiko station, since it was early and the retro bus service had not started yet. I boarded the first green bus with the destination Iyashi no Sato (Healing Village). This seemed to be the most visit-worthy attraction along Lake Saiko. It was a small village like those in ancient period, with each houses have their own activities such as origami, pottery making, food making, etc.

The village itself was cool, but without Mount Fuji around and the gloomy skies made me feel depressed. I cut my visit short after buying some souvenirs and decided to get back to Kawaguchiko area. I stopped by the Toy Museum which was quite fascinating.

Kawaguchiko Music Forest

From Kawaguchiko station I took the red bus again and explored the furthest destination on the route which was the Kawaguchiko Natural Living Center. It was a place that teaches you how to grow organic food, and how to live in a ‘greener’ or more natural ways. I was not too interested in the natural living, but I found out that actually this place was a good vantage point to shoot Mount Fuji too. It was a real shame that the mountain was missing that day!

Then the highlight of the day, was definitely Kawaguchiko Music Forest. I am a fan of classical music and this place was fascinating for me. They have a few buildings and each building has their own show on certain times of day, so I decided to hang around to watch all the performances. The first performance was Music Box orchestra. Five big music boxes placed on stage, and when the box is started by coin and turn, it will play an orchestral piece of a classical music.

The second show was a big orgol dancing stage, so similar with music box once started it will play music, however, there were dolls and figurines in the hall that will start dancing along with the music. The MC said that this is the biggest dancing orgol in the world. The final show was a live duet of violin + piano to accompany a sand painting story telling. So basically there’s this sand painting artist drawing a story of the princess and the witch, and the duet were playing classical tunes as accompaniment. It was a cool performance.

Last Sunrise

I did not hunt for the sunset after going back from the music forest since it was cloudy, you can’t see anything anyway. The next morning was clear with few clouds, but it made a fantastic scenery. I took the bus back to Shinjuku at 9 am (remember to book/buy the ticket in advance!) Kawaguchiko was a fantastic destination, and I couldn’t be happier after visiting there and getting all the nice Mount Fuji photos.

That pretty much concludes this post, next post will be on my experiences in Tokyo. Stay tuned!