Mount Fuji: Tours & Tickets

We are disapointed the first day. The meeting point was so hide that we couldn’t find it althought we were in Shinjuku station one hour before meeting time! We tried to find VIP lounge from the railway station, then we asked from local people but nobody did not know where it is. We show the map for many local people but they didn’t know where the place is. Address was written in western alphabets snd they didn’t understand it and/or know were the place is. Place name was in japanese, but unknown place. Then we asked local people to call number we have and they agreed with Get Your Tour person that we wait bus in agreed bus stop. Bus not arrived and we asked again local people call to Get Your Tour number couple of times, but it didn’t answer. Our own sim card didn’t work in Japan althought it has been bought in Japan. That’s why we couldn’t call/send message ourselves. Then we went to caffee where was wifi and agreed by chat to change tour to next day. The person in chat made good jo

Kawaguchiko Lake was the highlight of the trip. We only had 30 minutes but I could have stayed at least an hour. Not only were the flowers blooming but there were local booths set up to shop. These were items I didn’t see later in the trip. I felt rushed and would have enjoyed more time. The stop at Mt Fuji was nice but not a lot to do. The 7 sacred pools was another favorite of mine with just about 45 mins it could have been 15 mins longer to look around the shops. My least favorite stop was the outlet mall with an hour to spend I was bored since I have most of these shops back home. Our guide was wonderful and very patient with those that were late to arrive (50 mins) for the beginning of the tour and those that lost track of time and were late coming back to the bus. 5 minutes is one thing but 35 mins was crazy. We were still able to get back on time which makes me wonder if we would have had more time if those that were late had showed up on time.

I was quite pissed off arriving at VIP lounge meeting area as the 2 staff at the counter were very unfriendly and impatient and not helpful at all. Shocking for Japanese standards. They kept mentioning sightseeing or shopping tour which is not what the voucher mentioned so was not sure if we are following correct group. They did not even bother to check if we had any voucher with us and just asked us to check our name and no. of pax and no further questions answered. The English Young Gentlemen was so forthcoming in checking our bus number. But still we were not sure if we are following the correct bus as our voucher shows has both shopping and sight seeing. Every unpleasant experience at the meeting point melted away with the kindness and very understanding nature of our tour guide, if I remember her name correctly was Ms Yuko. She was very accommodating and despite some people took longer time to return to the bus and the heavy jam causing delays.

This day was really nice. Great locations, nice guide, small group, everything you like. English guidance was very good, equal to the Chinese one. Only downside was that the cable car wasn't running and so the schedule was changed without prior notice. But the change schedule was still great. Tip: Forget the shopping, go for the hot spring. We didn't see Mount Fuji in its full beauty before, in the bath you had a great view...

What a great experience, we saw the real Japan, yes we were very fortunate to have a clear day, but the whole tour was wonderful. It was a very busy day and so much was packed in. Your escort/guide worked really hard and she was a credit to you all