Mount Fuji and Kamakura day tours from Tokyo compared

The short answer

The six tours below all leave Tokyo for a full day, but they are not interchangeable. Three concentrate on the Fuji lakes and springs, one adds Hakone's Lake Ashi and Komagatake Ropeway, one stitches Kamakura, Lake Ashi and Fuji viewpoints into a single day, and one skips Fuji altogether for Kamakura and Enoshima. Read the stops first, then the meeting point, then what the price includes: a venue named in an itinerary is a stop, and only an admission listed in the price or the option text is an entry.[5][1]

Fuji lakes and springs: three tours, three different days

The Mount Fuji Day Tour with Kawaguchiko Lake has the plainest itinerary. SkyGate lists Kawaguchiko Ooishi Park (30 minutes), Arakura Sengen Shrine (60 minutes) and Oshino Hakkai (60 minutes), with a guide and round-trip shared transfers in the price and no admission. It is the only tour here with two options that differ purely by departure point: one from Shinjuku, meeting at the ground floor of Mitsui Sumitomo Bank, Shinjuku Nishiguchi Branch, and one from Tokyo, at Bus Terminal Tokyo Yaesu A, B1F, Bus Stop A01. The description also mentions Gotemba Premium Outlets, but the itinerary does not list it, so XTOUR treats it as unconfirmed. SkyGate's page says each guest may bring one carry-on bag and that there is no luggage storage.[1]

The Mount Fuji G Line Full-Day Tour from Tokyo: Arakurayama Sengen Park, Lake Kawaguchi is built around photography stops. SkyGate's itinerary starts at Arakurayama Sengen Park, where it says to climb 397 steps near the main shrine for a view of the Chureito Pagoda and Mount Fuji, then moves through Fujiyoshida City, Oshino Hakkai, a photo stop at a Lawson convenience store with a complimentary ice cream, coffee or tea, and Lake Kawaguchi Oishi Park. From 20 October to 23 November the listing says the tour visits the Lake Kawaguchi Maple Leaf Corridor instead of Oishi Park. Its single option is for one to ten people and lists a guide who speaks English, Mandarin, Korean or Japanese. The meeting points in the itinerary are JR Tokyo Station Marunouchi South Exit at 8:00 AM and Tokyo MODE Gakuen in Shinjuku at 8:30 AM, though the option's own field just says "Hotel name and time". SkyGate says the tour is not recommended for pregnant women or people with heart disease, fear of heights or other medical conditions.[2]

The Mount Fuji and Oshino Hakkai Ole Hot Spring Full-Day Tour from Tokyo is the one that goes up to the Mount Fuji 5th Station. SkyGate's itinerary reaches the 5th Station at 10:30 AM, then Oshino Hakkai, then offers a choice at 1:30 PM between shopping at Gotemba Premium Outlets and the hot springs at Ki no Hana no Yu, both at your own expense. The price lists a guide and shared transfers, so the outlet and the hot spring are options, not inclusions. Meeting points are JR Tokyo Station Marunouchi North Exit or in front of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation at Shinjuku West Exit. Of the three Fuji-area tours with no admissions, this is the one that lists an afternoon choice, and it has the same medical caution as the G Line tour.[3]

Fuji with Hakone: cruise and ropeway included

The Mount Fuji and Hakone Tour is the only one here whose price lists a ropeway, and it lists a cruise and an audio guide too. The itinerary runs Mount Fuji's 5th Station (30 minutes), lunch (50 minutes), the Lake Ashi Cruise (15 minutes) and the Komagatake Ropeway (50 minutes), then a return to Odawara Station. The four options split on two choices: return by coach to Shinjuku Station or by high-speed train to Tokyo Station, and whether the Japanese-style sukiyaki lunch is included. SkyGate's itinerary ends at Shinjuku Station at 21:00 for the coach and at Tokyo Station at 20:00 for the Shinkansen, so the train return is the shorter day by an hour on that listing. Every option meets at the JTB Sunrise Tours Sales Office on the 3rd floor of the Keio Plaza Hotel Tokyo Main Tower in Shinjuku. The listing admits children aged 6 to 11 at a child rate and one child under 5 free without a seat.[4]

Fuji, Kamakura and Lake Ashi in one day

The Mount Fuji, Kamakura, Lake Ashi, and Big Buddha Full-Day Tour from Tokyo covers the widest range. SkyGate's itinerary visits the Great Buddha at Kotoku-in, heads to Hakone for a Lake Ashi cruise, continues to Oshino Hakkai and ends at Oishi Park, with lunch if you choose that option. The price lists a guide, a cruise, admission and shared round-trip transfers, but the page does not say which sites the admission covers, and XTOUR has not been able to reconcile that. The two options differ by lunch only, and both meet at Ginza Inz 2, across the street from Tokyo Hands. SkyGate's page says views of Mount Fuji are weather dependent and puts the tour at 11 hours, and lists an English and Spanish-speaking guide. Its itinerary does not list the 5th Station, so if going up the mountain matters to you, check the other tours first.[5]

Kamakura and Enoshima without Fuji

The Kotoku-in Temple and Enoshima Day Tour from Tokyo is the only Kamakura-only option. SkyGate's itinerary visits the Kamakura Great Buddha (Kotoku-in Temple) at 10:00 AM, rides the Enoshima Electric Railway, stops at Kamakura High School, visits Enoshima Island, and finishes at Tsurugaoka Hachimangu Shrine, returning to Tokyo at 5:30 PM. The price lists a tour guide only, so the temple and shrine are stops rather than listed admissions. The listing warns that the group reaches Enoshima by tram and that no refund will be given if guests cannot ride the Enoden due to unforeseen circumstances, and that hotel pick-up times are between 7:00 and 8:30 AM even though the itinerary names two make-your-own-way meeting points: Shin Marunouchi Building in front of JR Tokyo Station, and in front of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation at Shinjuku West Exit. SkyGate advises comfortable walking shoes. The option has a minimum of two people. The Great Buddha also appears on the longer Fuji tour above, so the two overlap only at Kotoku-in.[5][6]

How to choose

• Simplest Fuji-area day with a departure from Shinjuku or Yaesu: the Mount Fuji Day Tour with Kawaguchiko Lake.
• Viewpoint and photo stops, with the 397 steps at Arakurayama Sengen Park: the Mount Fuji G Line tour.
• Mount Fuji 5th Station plus a free afternoon choice of outlets or hot spring at your own cost: the Mount Fuji and Oshino Hakkai Ole Hot Spring tour.
• Cruise and ropeway in the price, with a choice of coach or Shinkansen return: the Mount Fuji and Hakone Tour.
• Kamakura's Great Buddha plus Lake Ashi and Fuji viewpoints in one day: the Mount Fuji, Kamakura, Lake Ashi, and Big Buddha tour.
• Kamakura and Enoshima with no Fuji: the Kotoku-in Temple and Enoshima Day Tour.

XTOUR's reading is that the meeting point should decide between otherwise similar tours: Shinjuku, Tokyo Station, Yaesu, Ginza and the Keio Plaza are different starting places, and the listings put them at different times.

Before you book

• Itineraries on the G Line, Oshino Hakkai, Kawaguchiko and Kamakura-and-Fuji tours are stated by SkyGate to be subject to change with weather and traffic.[3][5][1][2]
• Meeting points are from SkyGate and have not been placed independently by XTOUR; confirm the point and time in your voucher.[6][3][2]
• Check the child and senior rules on the listing you choose, because minimum ages and accompanying-adult rules differ between tours.[1][4][6][2]