As mentioned in my Tokyo recap, I will be going through each day of the trip sharing where we went, what we ate and where we stayed! Our third location was Lake Kawaguchiko and Fujikawaguchiko. We wanted to see Mt. Fuji but didn't feel the need to get super close or climb any portion of it this trip. You can only hike when the trails are open in the Summer anyway. After some research we decided that viewing from Kawaguchiko was our best option.

Day 6 (Friday) & Day 7 (Saturday)

Where We Stayed

Originally we were going to do a day trip from Tokyo and one day Christian randomly suggested glamping instead. You don't have to tell me twice, so I started googling options. I settled on Retreat Camp Mahoroba, a campground with multiple tent and car camping sites. They also had a couple tiny houses and domes. We chose to stay in one of the two dome tents for $300.

Retreat Camp provided a shuttle to and from Kawaguchiko station which was very helpful. We let them know what time we'd arrive by train and they were there to escort us in a cute little van. If Christian hadn't hurt his foot at Disney we may have decided to walk back to the train, but it was down hill and a little over 3 miles away so we opted for the shuttle back in the morning too.

Since it was Winter we were happy to know there would be a heater in the dome. When we walked in it was SO HOT, we actually had to turn the heat off! The dome was equipped with a couple beds and a nice big couch looking straight out of the front of the dome. We also had an outside patio/deck with a couple swings, picnic table, sink and cooking supplies. We brought convenience store food so we didn't have to worry about cooking. But if we wanted we could have paid for dinner items to be brought to us. We had to book through airbnb because we're from the US and that came with breakfast items. I forgot to take a photo but they provided yogurt, bread, cheese and a couple eggs for us to make sandwiches.

A short walk from our dome was the bathroom building which had 2 stalls with toilets and 2 stalls with showers. Each bathroom had it's own pair of slippers for you to change into from the outdoor slippers. We also had to be sure to take off our shoes before entering our tent. Everything was spotless, pure glamping bliss.

During the day we kept the shades of the dome open but for the evening we closed it most of the way to keep the heat in and prying eyes out even though you wouldn't really be able to see in from anywhere on the campground. It was fairly quiet when we were there with only a few other campers but I imagine in prime seasons every site is taken. Further up the hill from where we were there were spots for cars and small tents to be set up. I believe there are 29 total sites,

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Where We Went

Getting to Kawaguchiko Station

It was quite the adventure getting from Tokyo to Kawaguchiko station. We did all the research beforehand but still managed to get nervous along the way. We had lunch in Tokyo, stopped at a 7Eleven for supplies for breakfast and dinner and then we were off! Our journey started at 11:29am at Omote-sando Station. We then headed to Shibuya Station where we took Chuo Line to Otsuki Station (with a connection through Takao station where we stayed on the train.) After we arrived there at 1:39 came the confusing part, we had to find the non-local train on the Fuji-Kyuko line to Kawaguchiko.

We had watched a YouTube video of the process but in practice it was a little more confusing as some of the signs said the same thing. A conductor told us to buy tickets for the next train that was leaving so we got in line behind a bunch of other people trying to do the same thing. However the line was moving slowly so he ushered us on to the train instead where we stood for the whole hour long ride. The section we were in between cars was filled with other tourists with all their bags, I was standing on the steps leading to a door. It was quite the adventure. Luckily we just had backpacks and a shopping bag vs suitcases like some other people. Along the way the conductor came through and we paid for our tickets in cash. We arrived at Kawaguchiko Station at 2:41, so a little over 3 hours from Tokyo.

Another option would have been a bus from Shinjuku station which would have been cheaper but then we'd have to worry about traffic and buying the tickets early enough to get a seat. We decided train was less stressful.

Retreat Camp

The bulk of our time was spent at our dome tent, we didn't spend $300 to not take full advantage! We arrived at 3pm (check-in time) and left at 10am (check-out time.) We spent about an hour venturing to the a photo spot but the rest was spent enjoying our porch swings and dome. The view of Mt. Fuji was gorgeous and we loved being able to watch the sunset as well as sunrise! It was the perfect way to relax after our first 4 crazy days exploring Tokyo and Tokyo Disney.

Sunset

Some photos of our beautiful sunset.

Sunrise

And now for the sunrise! Gorgeous!

Tenku no Torii

We woke up early on Saturday morning and walked up the road to Tenku no Torii! This is also accessible through a hike from another shrine but from the campground we had a quicker route. Christian was moving a little slower than usual because of the pain in his foot but we made it! We paid 100 yen to enter the area and took photos in front of both torii gates. We arrived at 7:40am and there were only a couple other groups of people. It gets a LOT more crowded throughout the day and depending on the season. We headed back down to the campground at 7:55.

Tenku no Torii, meaning Torii in the sky, was built in 2019 and has perfect views of Mt Fuji framed by the gates. There are normally time limits for groups to take photos but since there were so few of us we all took turns and shared the space. We could have walked a further 10 minutes up for another torii gate and waterfall, but Christian's feet had enough.

Lake Kawaguchiko

Unfortunately because Christian's foot was hurting we decided to cut our stay short and did not explore the area surrounding the lake. We thought it best to let his feet rest since we were still near the beginning of the trip. A little disappointing, but we can always go back! Luckily our shuttle driver took the long way from Retreat Camp to the station so we got to ride a little bit around the Lake.

Where We Will Go Next time

Since we didn't spend as long as we wanted there were a lot of places we didn't get to see. Here's what I had on my list:

Chureito Pagoda: beautiful views of Mt Fuji with the pagoda in foreground, supposed to be very pretty with cherry blossoms.
Kawaguchi Asama Shrine: The entrance is only a 10 minute walk from the camp. There is a large torii gate at the entrance as well as "Shichi-hon Sugi" the sacred tree of seven cedars (over 1200 years old!) You can walk from here to Tenku no Torii.
Oishi Park: Pretty views of Mt Fuji with Lake Kawaguchiko in the foreground
Kubota Itchiku Art Museum
Haha-no-Shirataki Waterfall
Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway: Take a cable-car ride to the top for views and a swing photo op.
Kawaguchiko Music Forest Museum: From the Kawaguchiko website: "Why not take a small trip to Europe, surrounded by beautiful gardens, rich nature, and soothing music?"
Houtou Fudou Kawaguchiko North Main Shop: Eat "Hōtō noodles" a local specialty dish!

Heading back to Tokyo

Our way back to Tokyo was less stressful since we mostly knew how it worked. We started the journey at 10am taking the shuttle from Retreat Camp to Kawaguchiko Station. From there we made our way to Shinjuku Station via Otsuki Station and back to our hotel in the area before exploring more of Tokyo. We arrived at the station at 1:15pm, plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the day.

What We Ate

7Eleven

Before heading to Kawaguchiko Station we grabbed some groceries from 7Eleven. We got a couple bags of chips, some onigiri, two types of ramen noodles (we used the in-room water kettle to get our boiling water!) a couple pastries and orange juice. We spent $13.33!

Sandwiches

We were also provided with some breakfast items from Retreat Camp but we didn't eat much of it because we didn't want to do dishes. Christian had a cheese sandwich and some salad greens. Unfortunately I forgot to take a photo, ha ha.