Exploring Japan’s MOUNT FUJI! 🇯🇵 (FUN things to do + local FOOD!)

Exploring Japan’s MOUNT FUJI! 🇯🇵 (FUN things to do + local FOOD!)

Welcome to Mount Fuji. Standing at 3,776 meters tall, this sacred peak is not only Japan’s highest mountain, but one of the country’s most iconic symbols and one of its 111 active volcanoes, last erupting in 1707. And for the next 2 days, we’re going to be exploring Mount Fuji’s beautiful lakes, iconic viewpoints, stunning waterfalls, and local eats by foot, ropeway, bike, and our adorable little camper van. [Music] We’re kicking off our time here at Mount Fuji by climbing up to the Charredo Pagota for sunrise, which is quite possibly the most famous viewpoint of Mount Fuji. However, we aren’t totally sure if we’ll actually get to see the mountain because it’s often covered by clouds and only visible 20 to 30% of the time. But we’ve been checking the weather and using two websites, Se Mount Fuji and is Mount Fuji visible to see our chances. And both say we should be able to see it. So we’re crossing our fingers that it’s true. [Music] There it is. Oh my god. The predictions were correct. It is crystal clear. The mountain is fully out. Yes. [Music] This actually isn’t our first time getting to see Fuji. We saw it the other day in Hakune. We see it. We see Fuji. I am so happy. I could cry right now. Well, the weather has been so cloudy, so we kind of lost all hope that we would ever get to see it on this trip. It was such an unexpected surprise, and we are so grateful that we got lucky enough to see it again. I will say though, prepare for crowds if you come to this spot. Even at sunrise, it was very busy, and I hear it is madness later in the day. But even with all the people, it was still 1,000% worth it. That was so beautiful. [Music] For the rest of the day, our plan is to ride bikes around Lake Kawaguchi, which is one of Fuji’s five lakes. We just picked up rental bikes from Karp Rental Bicycle, which only cost 1,600 per bike for a regular bike, which is a steal. But they do have ebikes as well. The route around the lake is just under 19 km. But there are quite a few stops that we want to make along the way. And first, we’re heading up the Mount Fuji Panoramic Rope. I’m pretty sure no one wears a helmet while riding a bike in Japan, but we believe in protecting the noggin. [Music] The view from up here is pretty awesome. We have an extremely clear day, but even if Mount Fuji was covered, the views of the surrounding mountains, the mountains, and the distance and the lake down below is topnotch. So, you can hike to the top of Mount Fuji, but the climbing season is only from early July to midepptember. And it is a very tough hike at 16.6 km round trip and over 1,600 m of elevation gain. And a not so fun fact for the ladies, until 1872, women were forbidden from going to the summit of Mount Fuji. And the reason was beautiful women could upset the goddess of Mount Fuji and she would get mad and then she would erupt. Thankfully we are allowed there now. But we are here in mid-occtober. So unfortunately we’re outside of the climbing season. But I would love to come back and summon it someday. And I also would love to come back when there’s actually snow on top cuz I think it’s even more beautiful when it has that little snow cap. [Music] Before we continue riding around Lake Kawaguchi Co, we want to give a huge thank you to Element for sponsoring today’s video. It is no secret that we love Element. This little packet is loaded with an electrolyte mix of sodium, potassium, and magnesium without any sugar and has become one of our must-have items while traveling. Our journey from Texas to Japan was pretty long with over 16 hours of flying. And as you may have noticed, the air is a bit different on airplanes. There is less humidity and oxygen, which can make it easier to get dehydrated, leading to headaches, fatigue, and muscle cramps. So, we always make sure to add some electrolytes to our water when flying to help us feel our best in the air and when we land, which is especially important while battling a 14-hour time difference. And since being here in Japan, Element has helped keep us hydrated countless more times. as we hiked at higher altitudes in the Japanese Alps, soaked in steamy onens, walked many miles across Tokyo, and sat in the blazing sun at a Japanese baseball game. If you want to give it a try for yourself, Element is offering our viewers a free sample pack with any order, which includes two packets of each of their four most popular flavors. To get yours, head to drinklnt.com/apusk or scan the QR code on the screen. [Music] After a few kilometers along the lake shore, we decided to detour away from the lake and walked through the Kawaguchi Asama Shrine, which is home to ancient cedar trees, many of which are over 12,200 years old and reach heights of 45 m tall. And we headed to Nagasaki Coffee, a fantastic coffee shop with a cozy, relaxing vibe before finally arriving at the Ichu Kubota Art Museum. Ichu Kubota was an artist born in 1917 who was known for reviving the lost art of Sujigahana silk dying to decorate kimonos. Inside you can see several of his kimono creations, plus parts of his unfinished masterpiece, the symphony of light, which includes 80 kimonos that form a picture of Mount Fuji. Unfortunately, no photos or videos are allowed inside, but here are a few that we found online that kind of show you what to expect. The kimonos were so stunning. Each one was unique and told a different story, and it was so interesting to learn about the intricate process to make them. What really stood out to me at this museum was the grounds and the architecture. Outside is what seems to me like a classic Japanese garden with water trickling and so much greenery around. It’s just so peaceful and tranquil. But then the building is something I’ve never really seen before. It was like this earthn structure that was just like a building melded into nature. Inside the cement was all kinds of like different rocks. And then the building that the kimonos were in was this very impressive wooden pyramidal structure. I was just half the time I was looking at the kimonos, the other half I was just admiring all the woodwork and just how awesome this building was. [Music] [Music] We have made it to the most popular park on this lake, Oishi Park. It has perfect views of Mount Fuji, plus a garden with seasonal plants and flowers. But it’s also famous for its ice cream, which is of course one of the main reasons why we’re here. This area is a huge grape growing region, so we had to get the grape ice cream. This is a red grape. And then this is the muscat grape, which is one of the beloved grapes here. And we’ve had quite a bit of a soft serve during our time in Japan. But this is the most beautiful one yet. Not only is it so colorful, but it just has these plump and fluffy swirls. So excited. M the soft serve here is just next level. So creamy. It’s kind of hard to tell the individual flavors, but I definitely taste grape. I’ve never had grape ice cream before. It’s really good. [Music] One thing I have loved about riding the bikes around the lake is one, we don’t have to deal with any parking, but also we’re able to kind of tuck down into these little beaches and areas that many cars cannot get to. That park we were just at was probably the busiest place we have been to in all of Japan, minus Tokyo, of course. But just down the road, we just found this little spot to walk down to this beach with a view of Mount Fuji. and there is no one here. It’s amazing. And the bikes have been a ton of fun to ride. They’re smooth and comfortable. You do have to ride on the road a good amount, but there are a lot of other bikes out. So, it seems like most drivers are pretty aware of all the bikes, but overall, highly recommend renting bikes and riding around the lake. And also, highly recommend renting from where we rented. The owner is super nice and the price is hard to beat. Plus, you also get these fun little characters to ride along with you. And they squeak. Adam’s had a nice view his entire ride. If I need to go faster, I just say go. Hi. [Music] Woo! Made it. That was awesome. Yeah. Heck yeah. [Music] Japan is split into 47 prefectures which are like a state or province. We are currently in the Yamanashi Prefecture and one of the famous dishes of this area is hodo, a soup made with miso broth, thick wide noodles similar to udon and filled with pumpkin and other vegetables. So, we came to a popular spot called kosaku to try it. First impressions, it comes in this big iron bowl that is piping hot. If you come here, don’t touch this bowl. probably throughout your whole meal. It is very hot. It’s also a workout trying to lift it. Yeah, I can see that all the waitresses have giant arms. They don’t really, but they should. I can only imagine this is going to be scalding hot. [Music] Yeah, those noodles have a bit of a chew. They’re very thick and so there’s a a lot. Just in one bite, you get a lot of noodle. Yeah, those are chewy and kind of almost a little gooey and doughy. I had read some people compare the noodles to kind of being like a dumpling, and I can totally see that. The noodles alone are like a dish. And the broth tastes, yeah, pretty pumpkiny. Little bit of pork flavor, but a lot of pumpkin flavor, which I like. So, it’s like a a good fall soup. Has a lot of good savory, salty flavor as well. Oh, it was so hot. I can’t taste anything anymore now cuz I just burned off my taste buds. The broth is very good once you uh let it cool down for a second. I’m not totally sure what this vegetable is. It kind of looks like a green bean, but it is really good. It adds this really tangy flavor to the soup. It’s like kind of a fermented flavor a little bit. Kind of helps cut the slight sweetness from the pumpkin. [Music] We are trying to take advantage of Fuji being out as much as possible today. So, we figured we should probably go see the sunset somewhere, but we didn’t really want to deal with the popular crowded spot. So, I was playing around on Google Maps, found this random field that supposedly has a view of Mount Fuji. So, we’re going to head there and hopefully it works out. [Music] Today looks like it’s going to be a pretty rainy day. So, we’re going to focus on some sites that don’t revolve around seeing Fuji itself. And first, we’re heading to a couple waterfalls that are right next to each other. Sherito and Otodome Falls. [Music] [Applause] [Music] This is incredible. You just have this massive rock wall that is just covered in waterfall. Just probably over a hundred different streams of water coming down from here. It kind of reminds me of Bernie Falls in California, but on an even larger scale. The photos do not do it justice. You have to come here and see this because it is way bigger than the photo shows. [Music] Both of these waterfalls are on the list of the top 100 waterfalls in Japan. We saw another one on the Hizu Peninsula a few days ago. So, only 97 more to go. [Music] Besides, another must-try food item while here in the Mount Fuji area is Fuji Nomia yakisoba. Yakisoba is a popular Japanese stir fry, but this one differs in a couple ways. First, its noodles are only steamed without being boiled, which gives the noodles a different texture. And it also includes crispy bits of pork fat and is sprinkled with sardine shavings versus bonito flakes. First impressions, it smells pretty fishy from the shaved sardine flakes. Really good. The noodles are very, very chewy. I like that about it. But it has a really good kind of lighter and kind of oily taste to it, which those are kind of contradictory, but it works. And I like the little bits of pork in there as well. Gives it a little fatty fattiness. And it smelled really fishy, but I wouldn’t say it tastes fishy at all. I just love all the different textures. We liked it so much we had to get a second round. [Music] One of our favorite things we’ve done in Japan so far is walk part of the Nakasindo Trail, which allowed us to experience some of Japan’s history and smaller town life. And to get even more of a glimpse of Japan’s history, we’re visiting Psycho Yashi Nosato Nima, which is a historic village known for its buildings with thatched roofs. This was once said to be the most beautiful village in Japan. home to a wide variety of people that worked in forestry, charcoal making, silk farming, and dairy farming. However, in 1966, a typhoon swept through the area, creating a mudslide that destroyed 37 of the 41 thatched roof houses that stood at the time. Today, the village has been recreated to reflect some of what it was before the disaster, with most of its 20 thatched roof houses converted into different local shops and restaurants. That was a great little rainy day stop. Even though you do have to walk outside to get between the buildings, there are lots of buildings that you can pop into to escape the rain. My favorite part was going into the artisan shops and seeing all the locallymade art. We actually ended up buying this adorable little Fuji chopstick stand that I am so excited to use when we get back home. [Music] So, we were supposed to camp at a lakeside campground near Mount Fuji, but right before checking in, we learned that they have a gate that closes overnight, and it unfortunately doesn’t open up early enough for us in the morning. So, we cancelled that reservation and have been staying at Mitchi Noekis, which are roadside stations and where we’ve been camping most nights during our time in the van. It may not be glamorous, but they’re free, they have toilets, and they’ve been a great, easy place to park overnight. We’ve been loving all the pre-made food options at the Kambinis. We’ve been basically eating them every single night. And tonight we have beef bolognese from 7-Eleven. It is so good. Much better than you would expect convenience store food to be. Like a lot better. [Music] Since we couldn’t camp on a lake like we planned, we found a beach that you can drive onto, which we figured would be the perfect spot to enjoy coffee and the sunrise for our final morning in the van. [Music] I am so thankful that we got an epic sunrise on our last morning in this area and our last morning in Kiki. [Music] We now have a 2-hour drive to Tokyo, and I am so sad to say goodbye to our little camper van. I have loved van life here in Japan. It allowed us to visit some of the popular spots like Mount Fuji, plus some areas that maybe not all firsttime visitors get to. We’ve now rented a van in two different countries. And I definitely want to keep doing this because it is hands down one of the best ways to travel. Yeah, I have also thoroughly loved camper van life in Japan, especially in this camper. My only complaints are is that it’s a little bumpy and there’s no bathroom. But other than that, if they sold one of these in the US, I would heavily think about getting one. If you want to see more about this adorable camper van, make sure to check out one of our earlier Japan videos where we gave a full tour of it. We rented it from Japan CRC and highly, highly recommend them. We had zero issues the entire trip and I spent hours upon hours researching different camper van rental companies and we actually had a different van booked from a different company, but then last minute switched it to this one and I am so happy that we did. But our time in Japan isn’t over yet. This afternoon we’re jumping on our first ever bullet train to the Kyoto area for the final part of our trip. [Music] Bye Kiki. For you have been good to me. You have been good for you. Every time I look at this, I just smile and giggle. It’s so cute and small and chubby. [Music] for you have been good to me. You have been good. I feel so sad. You are always good. Come on, sing it out. Sing it loud. Sing it together.

A HUGE thank you to LMNT for sponsoring this video! 🎉 Head to http://DrinkLMNT.com/APLUSK to get your free sample pack with any purchase.

Welcome to Mount Fuji! 🗻🇯🇵 Standing at 3,776 meters (12,388 ft) tall, this sacred peak is Japan’s highest mountain and one of the country’s most iconic symbols. And seeing it for ourselves was one of our top bucket list items for Japan. So over a couple days we explored its beautiful lakes, iconic viewpoints, stunning waterfalls, and local eats!

📅 This video was filmed in mid October 2025
🚐 Rent this adorable campervan: https://japan-crc.com/en/vehicles/detail/1329
🇯🇵 See more of our Japan adventures: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZKRTK1yCEM5zIp-I6KryaqaMeTTdbhYD

📍Locations in this video
https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/3/edit?mid=1QdFzmVKt76WZCugADs3UEzugjYeolHo&usp=sharing

⌚Timestamps
00:00 Introduction
00:36 Sunrise at Chureito Pagoda
02:17 We rented bikes!
02:54 Mt. Fuji Panoramic Ropeway
04:10 Our MUST have electrolytes for travel!
05:23 Riding bikes around Lake Kawaguchiko (Our top spots!)
09:46 Trying Hoto
11:30 Mount Fuji sunset
12:05 Rainy day hike to Shiraito and Otodome Falls
13:23 Trying Fujinomiya Yakisoba
14:38 Visiting Saiko Iyashi-no-Sato Nemba
16:11 Our campground didn’t work out
17:15 Sunrise and coffee at Tatego-Hama Beach
18:04 Saying goodbye to our adorable campervan 😭💔
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👋🏼 About us
Hi y’all! We’re Adam, Kathryn, and Kona, an adventurous married couple (+ pup!) living on the road in our self-converted sprinter van! You can often find us driving all around the US and Canada, scoping out the best coffee shops, eating tacos and ice cream (we’re a 5+ taco and 2+ scoop household), and enjoying nature.

We help travelers spend less time (and stress!) planning their trip and more time enjoying it! Our detailed travel guides, YouTube videos, and travel resources share the must-visit local eats, popular and off the beaten path sights, and tons of tips to make planning your next adventure a whole lot easier.

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