The largest of the Fuji Five Lakes, at the foot of Mt Fuji.
Lake Yamanaka (Yamanakako) is the largest and highest of the Fuji Five Lakes, at 980.5 m on the northeastern foot of Mt Fuji in Yamanashi, Japan. People come for the Fuji views, the swans, the lakeside cycle path and, from mid-October to February, the sun setting on the summit. Buses from Shinjuku take about 2 to 2.5 hours.
980.5 m
The highest of the Fuji Five Lakes.
6.78 km²
The largest of the five by area.
13.87 km
Other sources round the shoreline to 13 or 14 km.
13.3 m
The shallowest of the five, just: Kawaguchiko reaches 14.6 m.
Lake figures: Yamanashi Prefecture, from Geospatial Information Authority of Japan data.
Lava from Mt Fuji blocked a valley and the water backed up behind it to form the lake. Geologists still debate which eruption did it. Groundwater from the mountain wells up through the lakebed, and the lake is the source of the Katsura River.
Pilgrims came long before tourists. Members of the Fuji-ko pilgrim movement purified themselves in a circuit of eight lakes, the “inner eight lakes”. Yamanashi Prefecture says a late 16th-century document attributed to Hasegawa Kakugyo, the movement’s founding figure, already names Yamanaka.
The prefecture gives that pilgrimage, and the upside-down Fuji mirrored in the lakes, as reasons the Fuji Five Lakes are part of the World Heritage site.
Fuji across the water first, then the swans, the boats and the shore. The swan boat and the KABA bus both leave from Asahigaoka on the south shore.
The north shore looks straight across the water at Fuji. From mid-October to late February the sun sets exactly onto the summit, seen from a different spot every few days: Panorama-dai and the Asahigaoka shore in mid to late October and again in February, Hananomiyako Koen in mid to late December (the prefecture’s guide dates).
Mute swans live on the lake all year, and the swan is the village bird. The swan-shaped cruise boat Hakucho no Mizuumi (“Swan Lake”) does a lap of about 20 minutes from Asahigaoka pier: ¥1,200 for adults and ¥600 for children aged 4 to 12 (checked October 2026).
A bus that drives off the road and into the lake, on a ride of about 30 minutes from the Mori-no-Eki Asahigaoka terminal. It has run again since 13 June 2026, after low water stopped it in November 2023. Adults ¥2,800, children ¥1,400, a little more in July and August; book online up to 30 days ahead (checked October 2026).
About 300,000 m² of flower fields with Fuji behind. The outdoor fields are free. The paid Seiryu no Sato zone, with a waterfall and a greenhouse, costs ¥600 for adults from mid-April to mid-October, less in spring and late autumn and nothing from 1 December to 15 March. Parking is ¥300 (checked October 2026).
A roadside lookout on the road from Hirano towards Mikuni Pass, with the whole lake below Fuji. The prefecture rates it best from December to February. The car park holds about 7 cars and fills fast, and no bus stops at it: from the Mikuniyama Hiking Course entrance stop it is about 30 minutes on foot.
A cycling road runs almost all the way round the shore. The tourism association suggests about 1 hour 30 minutes for the loop by bike, starting from the Forest of Literature park, and part of it follows the Tokyo 2020 Olympic road race route. The Asahigaoka shore on the south side has its autumn leaves festival from late October into November.
Opened in July 1999 in the Yamanakako Forest of Literature park, after the village bought most of the Mishima family’s archive. Adults ¥700, 10:00 to 16:30, closed Mondays and Tuesdays (checked October 2026). The park also has a hall for the journalist Tokutomi Soho, who spent his summers here, and stones carved with poems.
Benifuji no Yu, the public bath that looks at Fuji, is closed from 28 September 2026 until a planned reopening in March 2027. Ishiwari no Yu in Hirano is the open alternative: strongly alkaline water, adults ¥900, 11:00 to 19:00, closed Thursdays (checked October 2026). It posted a notice about its October opening, so check its site before you go. Its baths have no Fuji view.
The lake is on the east side of the Fuji Five Lakes, between Gotemba and Kawaguchiko. After snow, winter tyres may be needed on the roads around it.
Day trips from Tokyo that include the lake, from a short stop for the swans to a day built around the swan boat or the KABA bus. The tours page lists all 19 tours that visit the lake.
10 hours
The only Tokyo day trip built around the lake itself: choose a ride on the KABA amphibious bus, a cruise on the swan-shaped boat or a shoreline walk from Hirano Beach, then visit Oshino Hakkai and Oishi Park.
from$58
Check availability10 hours
The cheapest well-reviewed day trip from Tokyo, packing nine stops into one coach day, beginning with Fuji reflections at Hirano Beach on Lake Yamanaka and ending at the Chureito Pagoda.
from$30
Check availability10 hours
A newer nine-guest tour that gives Lake Yamanaka a 40-minute first stop, then 70 minutes at Oshino Hakkai with lunch, Oishi Park and the pagoda, leaving Tokyo Station at 07:30 or Shinjuku at 08:00.
from$51
Check availability9 hours
An autumn coach day that opens with an hour on the Lake Yamanaka swan boat cruise, then takes in the coloured leaves at Oshino Hakkai, Oishi Park or the Maple Corridor, and the Kubota Itchiku museum.
from$57
Check availability8 hours
Spends about two hours at Lake Yamanaka, with a panorama viewpoint, a live sumo show at the Fujitaya venue and time at the swan shore, before Oshino Hakkai, Oishi Park and the Hikawa clock shop street.
from$63
Check availability10 hours
A coach day that does the Kawaguchiko photo spots and an hour at Oshino Hakkai first, then finishes with 20 minutes beside Lake Yamanaka feeding the swans before the drive back.
from$49
Check availabilityPrices and ratings were taken from GetYourGuide and can change. Booking through these links supports this site at no extra cost to you.
Asahigaoka on the south shore suits a first stay without a car: the bus terminal, the swan boat pier, the KABA bus and the lakeside park are all within a few hundred metres. The Yamanaka district on the west side has the Fuji-view hotels and budget lodges near the main road. Hirano and Nagaike in the northeast are quieter, with fewer buses. Kawaguchiko has the most hotels and restaurants and trains from Shinjuku, but it is the most crowded of the five lakes and about 40 minutes from Asahigaoka by bus.
Yamanaka sits at the east end of the five lakes. These are the sights most day trips pair it with.
Eight spring-fed ponds of Fuji snowmelt in Oshino village, about 10 km away. Fuji pilgrims purified themselves here, and the ponds are part of the World Heritage site too.
The most developed of the five lakes and the area’s transport hub, about 15 km west by road.
The pagoda above Fujiyoshida, about 25 minutes by car. Fujiyoshida cancelled its 2026 cherry blossom festival over crowding; the park stays open.
Yamanaka, Kawaguchiko, Saiko, Shojiko (the smallest) and Motosuko (the deepest, whose Fuji view was on the old ¥1,000 note).
The lake’s own sights, from Diamond Fuji to the flower park and the onsen.
Diamond Fuji is the moment the setting sun sits exactly on Mt Fuji's summit.
Hananomiyako Koen is a village-run flower park on the north-west side of Lake Yamanaka, with about 300,000 m² of fields facing Mt Fuji.
Benifuji no Yu, the Fuji-view hot spring at Lake Yamanaka, closed on 28 September 2026 and plans to reopen in March 2027.
Yamanakako no KABA is an amphibious bus that drives from the road straight into Lake Yamanaka.
Pick Kawaguchiko for a first visit by public transport: it has the train station, the most hotels and the best-known sights.
Where to stay, how to get there from Tokyo and which day trips are worth it.
Stay at Asahigaoka if you arrive by bus: the terminal, swan boat pier and lakeside park are a few hundred metres apart.
The easiest way from Tokyo to Lake Yamanaka is the direct highway bus from Busta Shinjuku.
The cheapest and most frequent way from Tokyo to Mt Fuji is the Fujikyu or Keio highway bus from Busta Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko: 56 a day, about 1 h 45, from ¥2,000 paid online.
Kawaguchiko is the easiest base near Mt Fuji, with the most hotels and the rail station.
A Mt Fuji day trip from Tokyo takes about 10 hours, with roughly four of them on the road.
For a ryokan with Mt Fuji from the room and the bath, book on the north shore of Lake Kawaguchi: Shuhokaku Kogetsu and Ubuya say every room faces Fuji.
The Fuji Excursion is a JR East and Fujikyu limited express from Shinjuku to Fujisan Station and Kawaguchiko with no change.
Only book a Mt Fuji view hotel whose own site says the rooms face Fuji.
Choose Kawaguchiko if seeing Mt Fuji up close is the point: the mountain stands across the lake, about 17 km away, and the bus from Shinjuku takes about 1 h 45.
Lake Yamanaka is the place for Mt Fuji glamping.
The sights around the mountain, and when and where to see it clear.
Oshino Hakkai is a group of eight spring-fed ponds in Oshino village, between Lake Yamanaka and Lake Kawaguchiko.
Lake Kawaguchiko is the Fuji Five Lake with the train station, the most hotels and the best-known Fuji photo spots.
The Chureito Pagoda stands in Arakurayama Sengen Park in Fujiyoshida, with Mt Fuji rising behind it.
Fuji-Q Highland, the roller coaster park at the foot of Mt Fuji in Fujiyoshida, is free to enter.
The Fuji Subaru Line 5th Station sits at 2,305 m on Mt Fuji's north side, at the end of a toll road from Fujikawaguchiko.
Narusawa Ice Cave and Fugaku Wind Cave are two lava caves in the Aokigahara forest on Mt Fuji's north-west side, a short walk apart.
The Fuji Shibazakura Festival is a spring display of about 500,000 pink and white moss phlox plants with Mt Fuji behind, held at Fuji Motosuko Resort near Lake Motosu.
Mt Fuji shows in full on about 138 mornings a year in Fuji City's 35-year count: around 20 days in December, but only 3 to 5 in June, July and August.
The best time to see Mt Fuji is November to February, when the whole mountain shows on 15 to 20 mornings a month in Fuji City's 35-year count.
The best place to see Mt Fuji is the north shore of Lake Yamanaka, where the mountain rises straight across the water, with Panorama-dai above it a close second.
The Fuji Five Lakes are Yamanaka, Kawaguchiko, Saiko, Shoji and Motosu, strung in an arc along the north side of Mt Fuji in Yamanashi.
The best things to do near Mt Fuji are around the Fuji Five Lakes: watch Fuji from Lake Yamanaka's north shore, ride the KABA amphibious bus, walk Oshino Hakkai's spring ponds, climb to the Chureito Pagoda, visit Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine and Nenba's thatched village, and drive to the 5th Station.
Yes, if you want Mt Fuji across open water. It is the largest of the Fuji Five Lakes and part of the Fujisan World Heritage site, with the swan boat, the KABA amphibious bus, a flower park and a cycle path round the shore. Come between late autumn and winter for the clearest views; in summer Fuji is often hidden.
This guide could not confirm it either way. Wikipedia lists swimming among the lake’s activities, but no page from the village or the tourism association that says so could be found. The lake is used for sailing, windsurfing, wakeboarding and fishing. Ask the Yamanakako Tourist Association (0555-62-3100) before you go in.
By highway bus from Shinjuku in about 2 to 2.5 hours, by car through the Yamanakako interchange on the Higashi-Fuji Goko Road (about 1.5 hours from central Tokyo in light traffic), or by local bus from Fujisan Station or Kawaguchiko Station in 25 to 40 minutes. Many Mt Fuji day tours from Tokyo also stop at the lake.
About 12 to 13 km in a straight line from the south and west shores to the summit, measured on a map; there is no official figure. The local tourism association calls Yamanaka the closest lake to Mt Fuji. No climbing trail starts at the lake: the nearest are the Subashiri and Yoshida trails.
Yes, on clear days, from almost anywhere on the shore. The north shore around Nagaike and Hirano and the Panorama-dai lookout are the best-known viewpoints. Fuji is often in cloud, far more in summer than in winter: Fuji City, on the south side of the mountain, counted it fully visible at 8 am on 22 days in February 2025 but on 2 in June. Mornings are clearer than afternoons.
Take a Fujikyu or Keio highway bus from Busta Shinjuku: about 2 to 2.5 hours, ¥2,650 or ¥2,350 booked online (checked October 2026), with all seats reserved. Or take the JR Chuo Line to Otsuki, the Fujikyu Line to Fujisan Station and a local bus, about 2 hours 45 minutes in all. By car it is about 1.5 hours in light traffic.