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Lake Yamanakako 山中湖

Checked November 2026 · next check January 2027 · 1 post since 2019

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Visiting Lake Yamanakako today

  • 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
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Tulips late April to mid-May; sunflowers mid-August; the lake freezes in winter

Checked against: Lake Yamanakako Cycling Road (Yamanashi Tourism, official) · Lake Yamanakako (Yamanashi Tourism, official) · Lake Yamanakako Hana no Miyako Park (Yamanashi Tourism, official) · Yamanashi Tourism English brochure (official PDF) · Yamanakako, Yamanashi (Wikipedia). Check opening times and prices before you go.

Lake Yamanakako on Shibuya246

Photos and stories from our visits, as they were written at the time.