Mt Fuji and the Lakes in Golden Week

Shibuya246 · 3 May 2019 · 7 photos

Dusk over Lake Yamanakako, with swan boats on the shore.

Golden Week brings clear spring days around the Fuji Five Lakes, with snow still on the summit of Mt Fuji and pink blossoms out lower down. Most of these photos are from Lake Yamanakako, with a forest trail sign pointing toward Lake Shoji and a lunch stop with a view over Lake Motosu.

The lakes are a good base for watching Fuji change through the day, from morning light on the snow to a pink and orange dusk.

A rusty old engine and pump in a park with Mt Fuji in the distance. — An old rusty engine and pump in a park, with Mt Fuji behind.

Mt Fuji above a roadside station car park with pink blossoms along the fence. — Mt Fuji above a roadside station, with pink blossoms along the fence.

A wooden trail sign pointing to Lake Shoji, 4.9 km and 117 minutes away, in a bare spring forest. — A trail sign pointing to Lake Shoji: 4.9 km, 117 minutes.

Mt Fuji glowing pink behind pine trees at dusk beside a quiet road. — Pink dusk behind Mt Fuji beside a quiet road.

The Lake Yamanakako area guide map in Japanese and English. — The Lake Yamanakako area guide map. It describes the lake as shaped like a whale.

A pot of noodles in miso broth on a tray beside a window overlooking Lake Motosu. — A hot pot of noodles in miso broth with a view over Lake Motosu.

More about Lake Yamanakako and getting there is in the travel note below. Which of the five lakes gives the best view of Fuji? I took these photos in May 2019 and only got round to posting them in 2026.

Visiting today · Yamanashi, Chubu

Visiting Lake Yamanakako, Yamanashi today

Checked November 2026 · next check January 2027

Added by Shibuya246, separate from the original post above. Facts are checked every quarter against the sources below. Check opening times and prices before you go.

What it is: The largest of the Fuji Five Lakes and the one closest to Mt Fuji, at 982 m above sea level (third-highest lake in Japan) and 6.57 km² in area. The shoreline is about 14 km.
Getting there: No railway reaches the village. It is about 30 minutes by bus from Fujisan Station on the Fujikyu Line, and about 5 minutes by car from Yamanaka IC.
Highlights: Panorama-dai lookout (1,090 m) gives wide views of Fuji and the lake, and sunrise and sunset are described as remarkable year-round. The lake Cycling Road follows about 80% of the shore on well-paved, largely flat path; about 1.5 hours by city bike, with rentals on the northwest shore.
Flowers: Hana no Miyako Park, a 300,000 m² flower field with Fuji behind it, is free to enter. Its tulip festival (about 150,000 tulips) is best from late April to mid-May, sunflowers bloom in mid-August, and cosmos and zinnias follow in autumn.
Tip: The lake freezes over in winter, and ice fishing for wakasagi smelt is offered.

Best time