Mt Fuji and Hakone Tour with Bullet Train Return

How the Listings Compare

Each row below comes from the operator's own listing, and anything the listing does not state is marked that way.

What Is in the $159.54

Every option includes the English-speaking guide, the air-conditioned coach with free Wi-Fi, multilingual audio guidance in English, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Portuguese and Ukrainian, the Hakone Ropeway fee, the Lake Ashi cruise fee and the bullet train ticket from Odawara to Tokyo Station. The ropeway and cruise are real money on their own if you travel independently: the full Sounzan-Togendai ropeway ride costs 2,000 yen one way and the sightseeing cruise from Togendai to Hakone-machi or Moto-Hakone costs 1,700 yen one way at the official fare. The buffet lunch is included only on the lunch options, and vegetarian and Muslim-friendly meals can be requested when you book.

What You Pay Extra for

Food and drinks are not included unless you booked the lunch option, and gratuity is extra, though the listing says it is not obligatory. There is no hotel pickup or drop-off, one planned meeting point serves the whole group, so budget for your own train or taxi to Ginza or Shinjuku. If you turn up without having selected lunch or the bullet train, changing on the day costs more, so decide at checkout.

The Lunch, Honestly

The buffet offers the same menu for all guests and can cater for vegetarian and Muslim-friendly requests made at booking, but the listing is clear that it cannot provide vegan, halal, pure vegetarian, gluten-free or allergy-friendly meals. If you have a severe restriction, book the no-lunch option and bring your own food. The restaurant itself can change for operational reasons.

Meeting and the Drive Out

Ginza travellers meet at Matsuya Ginza in front of Tokyo Metro Ginza Station Exit A13 at 7:20 am for a 7:30 departure. Shinjuku travellers meet at the LOVE statue in front of i-Land Tower at 7:50 am for an 8:00 departure. On weekends and Japanese public holidays every departure moves to Shinjuku at 7:30 to dodge traffic.

Look for the green and white flag, because latecomers cannot join the tour mid-way and get no refund.

Mt Fuji 5th Station, 30 Minutes

The coach goes up to the 5th Station, where you get 30 minutes to breathe the thin air, look at the scenery and see the Shinto shrine up there. This stop is weather and traffic dependent. If the road allows only as far as the 4th Station, the group visits Oshino Hakkai or another alternative instead.

If the 5th Station closes for the Mt Fuji hill climb traffic regulation, an alternative place replaces it.

Buffet Lunch, 40 Minutes

On lunch options you get 40 minutes of Japanese buffet with local fresh ingredients at the bottom of Mt Fuji, as much as you like. Vegetarian and Muslim-friendly plates need to be requested at booking. On no-lunch options lunch is not provided, so carry food or buy it nearby.

Hakone Viewpoint

The itinerary then visits either Mt Hakone or Mt Komitake to see the Hakone area, with no duration stated for this stop. The listing is upfront that the schedule can shift for traffic, weather or operations.

Hakone Ropeway, 30 Minutes on Site

A 30-minute slot on the ropeway gives you a gondola ride over Hakone's landscape with Mt Fuji in the distance on clear days. The ropeway stops in high winds, extreme weather, mechanical trouble and maintenance, and the operator's compensation list covers a closure with an alternative stop or a gift, from a range including Odawara Castle, Oshino Hakkai, Hakone Sekisho, the Fujisan World Heritage Center and Hakone Shrine. Refunds are not given for these changes.

Lake Ashi Cruise, 30 Minutes

Another 30-minute slot covers the cruise on Lake Ashi, a caldera lake, with the Hakone landscape around you. Cruises can be suspended in heavy fog or strong wind, in which case the same alternative list applies.

Odawara to Tokyo Station by Bullet Train

The coach finishes at Odawara Station, where you board the bullet train for the short run back to Tokyo. The tour finishes at Tokyo Station at about 18:10. Luggage over 160 cm in total dimensions cannot go on non-reserved bullet train cars, so travel light or leave the big bag at your hotel.

If you hold a JR Pass, the operator sells a separate Return by Bus product instead, because the shinkansen ticket would duplicate your pass.

Anyone Who Cannot Do 11 Hours

This is an 11-hour day with early starts from 7:20 am and a finish at about 18:10. Stops are short, often 30 to 40 minutes, and much of the day is on a coach. If that sounds like a forced march, a shorter region works better, for example the Kamakura and Enoshima day trip with Enoden train ride.

Pregnant Travellers and Some Health Conditions

The listing says the tour is not recommended for pregnant travelers, travelers with poor cardiovascular health or asthma, and the 5th Station is high on the mountain. It is otherwise suitable for all fitness levels and prams and strollers are allowed, though you handle loading and unloading your own luggage, including wheelchairs and strollers.

Travellers with Strict Diets

The buffet cannot cater for vegan, halal, gluten-free or allergy-friendly diets. If that is you, book without lunch and bring your own, or pick a tour with no group meal at all, such as the Mount Fuji full-day highlights day trip.

Anyone Needing Hotel Pickup or a Wheelchair-accessible Coach

There is no hotel pickup, and wheelchair access is not stated. If door-to-door matters, the private day tour from Tokyo to Mt Fuji or Hakone picks up from your hotel, or see the private Mt Fuji option with hotel pickup.

Travellers Who Need a Guaranteed Fuji View

Mt Fuji visibility depends on the weather and is not guaranteed, and Hakone has lower odds of a clear view than the Fuji Five Lakes because conditions must be clear in both places. Popular stops can also be crowded with queues. If the mountain is the whole point of your day, a Fuji-focused itinerary such as the Chureito Pagoda, Lake Kawaguchi and Oshino Hakkai tour gives more time on the north side.

JR Pass Holders

The bullet train ticket is wasted on a JR Pass holder. Book the operator's separate Return by Bus product instead.

Hakone by Train, the Honest Version

The Odakyu Romancecar runs from Shinjuku to Hakone-Yumoto in about 80 minutes, all seats reserved, with a surcharge of 1,200 yen for adults on top of the regular fare. The Hakone Freepass from Shinjuku costs 7,100 yen for 2 days and covers the Tozan train, the Tozan cable car, the Hakone Ropeway, the Hakone Sightseeing Cruise and designated buses, which covers the ropeway and the lake cruise this tour includes. From Hakone-Yumoto the Tozan train to Gora takes 35 minutes.

A one-day Hakone loop by train is doable on your own, and free day trips from Tokyo by train explains the pattern.

Adding Mt Fuji on the Same Day

This is the hard part. The Fuji Subaru Line 5th Station is reached from Kawaguchiko Station by a 50-minute bus for 2,000 yen one way, and Kawaguchiko itself is about 1 hour 45 minutes from Busta Shinjuku by highway bus from 2,200 yen. Stacking the Fuji Five Lakes, a ropeway, a lake cruise and the transfer between two separate regions into one self-guided day means separate tickets and tight connections.

The tour handles all of that with one coach and one guide, which is what the price above the pass cost buys.

When to Split It Instead

If you have two or three days, doing Fuji one day and Hakone the next is calmer and often cheaper in total. See the 2 day trip from Tokyo and 3 day trip from Tokyo guides, or the page on how to plan a day trip from Tokyo for the timing rules. If you only want Hakone and you are happy on trains, skip the tour and buy the Freepass.