from Tokyo to Kawaguchiko, Japan

Back to Tokyo after our JR pass expired and bought ourselves a new pass called JR Kanto Area Pass which is valid for 3 days and only in, well Kanto region...hehe. However JR Kanto Area Pass is now known as JR Tokyo Wide Pass(might be introduced only this year 2016). Cost us about 8700yen (US$78) but i think the new JR Tokyo Wide Pass now cost 10,000yen.....for more info visit -------> http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2361_06.html

this is the list of places one can visit with the JR Kanto Pass ( or now known as JR Tokyo Wide Pass) and the prices for the transportation (ordinary ticket prices). Note: This Pass is purchase in Japan (at main train stations) unlike JR Pass where one need to purchase outside of Japan. JR Tokyo Wide Pass can only be purchase by non Japanese Passport holder! The Pass is totally worth it if you plan to make multiple trips from Tokyo to the places in the list.

As for us, we use our 3 days JR Kanto Area Pass on Kawaguchiko, Nikko and Karakuma traveling from Tokyo! Of course the pass can also be used in Tokyo itself with JR trains.

Kawaguchiko, was where we went to see Mt Fuji. Since we didn't manage to see Mt fuji on our last trip, we vow to see it this time around

from Shinjuku Station we took the Shinkansen Azusa 3 series(slightly slower then the Hikari shinkansen) with reserved seat ticket(advantage with the Pass) and had our breakfast on board with gyudon set we bought on the way to the train station....yum and cheap

after 1 hour traveling in the shinkansen we arrived at Otsuki we then need to transit to another express train(included with the Pass) which is much more slower....which took another hour to arrive Kawaguchiko station.

view from the express train from Otsuki to Kawaguchiko. tip: make sure to check the weather forecast before heading out here.....bad  weather u might want to skip coming here, cause the Mt Fuji might be clouded

Kawaguchiko station. From the station we walked to the Lake Kawaguchiko

Kawaguchiko Station is on the bottom right corner of the map. from the map we though it looks pretty close we probably can walked there ( our destination is Kawaguchiko Natural Living Center on the north site of the lake)

and save a few hundred yen on the bus ride

boy do we underestimate the distance

after walking for 45 minutes we reach the south east corner of Lake Kawaguchiko...lol

This World Heritage Site Lake Kawaguchiko, is the 2nd largest of the Fuji 5 lakes

view of the Kawaguchiko Ohashi Bridge

finally we walked to a nearby convenience store to ask for direction.....we were told it's a rather looong walk to Kawaguchiko Natural Living Center from where we are. We should have guest it as there were no other tourist walking there....

i guess we'll take the bus after all :P

we are not at #10...... trying to get to #22

or one can take the bus starting from the train station. there is a 1 day unlimited ticket for the  Fujikyuko bus which cost about1200yen. we didn't buy it because we though we could walked there !and now we had to pay expensive bus fair. If one doesn't have the unlimited ticket, one is required to take a ticket stating which stop you get on. so when you get down from the bus you pay the amount stating in front of the bus according to which stop you get on from

which look something like this, picture from our Hakone trip back in 2012

but the bus system is the same

view of the lake and mountains from the bus

this is how the bus looks like.....very new. i don't remember how much we paid for the bus ride but it was rather expensive for single trip so the 1200yen unlimited is definitely worth buying

for more info regarding the Fujikyuko bus and a detail map, visit --------> http://bus-en.fujikyu.co.jp/heritage-tour/detail/id/1/

with bus it take only 10 minutes, we are here finally after a total traveling time of 3 hours from Shinjuku!!! and weather was great

the famous Mt Fuji

it is said best time to see Mt Fuji is during winter where the sky is cloudless, fog less and only clear blue sky and the lake mirror the mt Fuji.....picture perfect setting

there is a small lavender field, but in autumn the place look rather bare. spring time it's also a beautiful time to visit here where cherry blossoms are everywhere

closeup of the Mr Fuji

 the place really had nothing much to offer, one can enjoy Mt Fuji for so long

we then decided to walked a little around the place... i didn't travel 3 hours to just spend 30 minutes here. Well we can go hiking at Mt Fuji but we were not equip for hiking

so after consulting the map, we saw a place just down the road a little from Kawaguchiko Natural Living Center, Momiji Tunnel to see maple leaves

finally some sign of autumn in Kawaguchiko

view of Unoshima Island

it would be a nice place for a drive around the lake or with bicycle

luckily we walked the extra mile for this beautiful scenery,

this was in early December so the peak season of the maple has already over but it's still very much gorgeous

walking back the trees covering the road does look a little like a tunnel

we then visited a local onsen place since we done with sightseeing. it's few bus stop away from Kawaguchiko Natural Living Center. i can't remember the name, it was advertise on the map. Cost about 1000yen per pax, 200 yen for the locker, another 300 yen for the towel.... so total 1500yen /pax i was rather disappointed with it! There was only 4 hot spring pool, 1 large one indoor and 3 ourdoor. and the bath are they only offer shampoo and body shampoo....that's it not even a conditioner. For that price it's NOT worth it!!!!

However i would recommend going to the one in Gotemba(if you have the time)

one can take the bus to Gotemba from the Kawaguchiko station but then it cost about 1510yen 1 way(takes about 1 1/2 hour with limited express bus or 2 1/2hours for normal bus)  but not covered by JR pass or the JR Tokyo Wide Pass

then from Gotemba station one can take the FREE shuttle bus to the Onsen resort

many resort to choose from

this was from our previous visit. Best onsen place.

i remembered we spend about 5 hours here, 1 day entrance fee cost about 2000yen(this was in summer 2012 i'm not sure if the price is still the same) We didn't even need to bring anything. Towels, yukata, shampoo, lotions, and thing you need they have it, even hair tonic. Way better facility then the one in Kawaguchiko

we can even see My fuji from here while in the hot spring. Damn we should have come here!!!!!!!

totaly recommended...can't remember the name it's sumika something.

Kawaguchiko is worth visiting if you really really want to see Mt Fuji because other then that there isn't much to see. If one has NO JR pass or JR Tokyo Wide Pass, it's a rather expensive trip to just see the Mt Fuji. So Plan carefully. One can always see Mt Fuji from the Shinkanshen or Skytree or Tokyo tower :D

next Nikko!

~ Ja ne ~