Hakone or Kawaguchiko for First-time Visitors

In contrast, Kawaguchiko is not well-connected to Kyoto/Osaka, making it a much less practical stop for those following the golden route. Getting from Kawaguchiko to Kyoto or Osaka requires multiple transfers and can take over 4-5 hours. If your trip is relatively short (under 10 days), it may not be worth the travel time and effort at all.

If your itinerary is focused on just Tokyo and the surrounding Kanto region, then either Hakone or Kawaguchiko can work well, depending on your priorities. Both are feasible day trips or short overnight stays from Tokyo.

Time of The Year

It is never a guarantee that the weather may be clear enough to view Mount Fuji from Kawaguchiko and nearby areas. For a first-time visitor, I feel like making the trip only to find the mountain hidden behind a wall of clouds can be disappointing, as many attractions in the area rely on the iconic snow-capped Fuji backdrop.

If you are visiting in winter, I recommend prioritizing the Fuji Five Lakes area over Hakone, as winter has the highest number of clear days. During certain months, you may even witness the Fuji Diamond phenomenon at Lake Yamanaka, where the sun aligns perfectly with the mountain peak. I have more details about this in my post on our winter day trip to Kawaguchiko in January.

Summer, on the other hand, is a less ideal season for Mount Fuji viewing. Not only is the weather more unpredictable with haze and clouds, but I think Fuji looks less majestic without its signature snow cap as well.

Hakone vs. Kawaguchiko Comparisons

Ease of getting around: Hakone has a well-developed transportation network that includes buses, cable cars, ropeways, and a sightseeing boat on Lake Ashi. In fact, this is a highlight of visiting Hakone as it allows visitors to do a loop around Hakone’s main attractions on various modes of transport. A lot of travelers make great use of the Hakone Free Pass to get around and complete the loop. Please note that the buses are often crowded with a long wait.

Kawaguchiko has local buses circling the lake and main sights and they also tend to be crowded. However, the area is spread out even more than Hakone, and many of the best viewpoints with fewer crowds are not easily accessible by public transportation. Renting a car or bicycle can give you extra flexibility.

Mount Fuji views: If seeing Mount Fuji is your priority, Fuji Five Lakes is quite obviously the better choice. Kawaguchiko offers some of the most iconic and unobstructed views of Mount Fuji. If your main goal is to see and photograph Mount Fuji up close, Kawaguchiko is better than Hakone. However, as I’ve mentioned before, Fuji visibility depends on the weather, so there is always a risk that you won’t get a clear view.

Hakone does have some nice Fuji viewpoints, such as Narukawa Art Museum, Lake Ashi and Hakone Ropeway. Again, visibility is weather dependent and overall, seeing Mount Fuji should not be your main reason for visiting Hakone.

Ryokan and onsen: Hakone is a very popular onsen destination with both Japanese people and international visitors. It offers a wide range of ryokan, from budget-friendly options to high-end luxury stays, many of which have private onsen. From my research for our trips, I saw a lot more upscale and luxury ryokan options in Hakone.

Kawaguchiko seems to have fewer ryokan and onsen options. The plus point is some ryokan have onsen with direct views of Mount Fuji which is pretty hard to find in Hakone.

Attractions and activities: for us, Hakone provides a more diverse and well-rounded experience with a mix of nature, culture, history, and activities. The Hakone Open-air Museum is a very cool museum we want to visit again at some point. Other highlights include the pirate ship cruise on Lake Ashi (included in the Hakone Free Pass), the Owakudani volcanic area, Hakone Shrine, and several small museums.

As mentioned, the Hakone loop combines different modes of transportation and allows you to hit a lot of these spots. If you are interested in a detailed itinerary, we have shared our Hakone two-day trip report with all the stops we made.

Our day trip to Fuji Five Lakes area was satisfying and unsatisfying at the same time. We were lucky to have a clear day and saw Mount Fuji from different lakes. However, the unsatisfying part was we felt that the enjoyment of the experience relied heavily on the Mount Fuji backdrop. We also found that there were not a lot areas to walk around as streets have small or even no sidewalks. That said, there is still a variety of activities, including temples, old villages, Mount Fuji ropeway, small museums and Fuji-Q Highland amusement park.

Scenery and atmosphere: We find the scenery in Hakone more diverse with lush forests, valleys, and a large lake. It has a somewhat “resort town” feel with beautifully curated art museums and nice ryokan.

Kawaguchiko area is mostly about the lake and Mount Fuji views. Without Lake Kawaguchi and Mount Fuji, the town itself is not very pretty to me. You can get more diverse scenery by visiting other lakes like Yamanakako and Saiko, but reaching them is a little difficult with public transportation.

Both destinations are popular so both have crowded spots. In Hakone, we used taxis a few times to save time and avoid the overloaded local buses. For our Fuji Five Lakes visit, we hired a car and a driver so we were able to visit less accessible spots with much fewer crowds.

Summary

Hakone has a broader range of experiences, including museums, activities, ryokan, onsen, and a famous sightseeing transportation loop. Kawaguchiko is all about iconic Mount Fuji views and the experience may rely more on having clear skies.

Both places have enough activities for a day or two. While both can also be visited on a day trip, I recommend staying overnight in Hakone. We also think Hakone is more accessible with more transport options and a lot easier to integrate into the classic golden route for first-time visitors.

I’m glad that we chose Hakone for our first Japan trip at the end of spring, and later came back in winter and visited Kawaguchiko area on a very clear day. If we could do it again, we would still do the same.

We are happy to return to both places in the future. For our next trip to Kawaguchiko, we would like to go in the fall and stay overnight at a ryokan with onsen. Since it will be our second visit, we will not feel disappointed if Mount Fuji is hidden behind clouds.