Tokyo/Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko & Mt. Fuji: How to Get There | Fuji Excursion Limited Express, Changing Trains, Highway Bus Fares, Travel Times and Booking

Overview

You can get from Tokyo to Kawaguchiko, at the foot of Mt. Fuji, by train or by highway bus. Kawaguchiko Station is the last station on the Fujikyu Railway Line, and buses to Fuji Subaru Line 5th Station also leave from this station. The fares and travel times in this article were checked on each operator's official website on October 15, 2026.

1. Fuji Excursion limited express: a limited express that takes you from JR Shinjuku Station to Kawaguchiko Station with no transfer. All seats are reserved.
2. Changing trains: take a JR limited express from Shinjuku Station to Otsuki Station, change there to a Fujikyu Railway Line train, and continue to Kawaguchiko Station.
3. Highway bus: takes you from Shinjuku (Busta Shinjuku), Tokyo Station or Shibuya to Kawaguchiko Station with no transfer. All of these buses are highway buses with assigned seats, and you can book them online.

• The line from Otsuki Station to Kawaguchiko Station is the Fujikyu Railway Line, not JR. Even if you have a JAPAN RAIL PASS, you pay the fare and limited express charge from Otsuki Station to Kawaguchiko Station separately.
• If you use the shinkansen, change at Mishima Station on the Tokaido Shinkansen to a highway bus bound for Kawaguchiko Station. Details are given after the highway bus table in this article.

Your options

1. By the Fuji Excursion limited express (no transfer)

• The Fuji Excursion is a limited express that runs through from JR Shinjuku Station to Kawaguchiko Station on the Fujikyu Railway Line. Beyond Otsuki Station, it runs on Fujikyu Railway Line tracks.
• There are 4 regular round trips a day. Extra trains are added in some seasons.
• Example travel time: the train that leaves Shinjuku Station at 10:30 arrives at Kawaguchiko Station at 12:24 (timetable in effect from March 14, 2026).
• All seats are reserved, and there are no non-reserved cars. There is also a limited express ticket that you buy without choosing a seat; with it, you can sit in any vacant seat. If no seat is vacant, you stand. It costs the same as a limited express ticket with a seat reservation.
• Between Shinjuku Station and Otsuki Station, the train runs coupled to another limited express (Azusa or Kaiji). At Shinjuku Station, board the car whose number is printed on your limited express ticket.
• The Fuji Excursion also stops at Shimoyoshida Station and Mt. Fuji Station, before Kawaguchiko Station. The Fujikyu Railway Line's station list gives Shimoyoshida Station as the nearest station to Arakurayama Sengen Park (Chureito Pagoda).

2. Take a JR limited express to Otsuki Station and change to the Fujikyu Railway Line

• From Shinjuku Station to Otsuki Station takes about 60 minutes by JR limited express. The Kaiji and Azusa limited expresses run on this section, but some limited expresses do not stop at Otsuki Station. Check the timetable and choose a train that stops at Otsuki Station.
• At Otsuki Station, change trains through the transfer gate between JR and the Fujikyu Railway Line. If you are traveling with an IC card, tap it at this gate.
• The Fujikyu Railway Line has local trains, which you can ride for the fare alone, and limited expresses that require a limited express charge (the Fujisan View Express and the Fujisan Express). The Fujisan View Express takes about 45 minutes from Otsuki Station to Kawaguchiko Station.
• How long you wait at Otsuki Station depends on which connection you make. This route is also an option when the Fuji Excursion's times do not suit you.

3. By highway bus (no transfer)

• The travel times in the table are each route's official estimates. When the roads are congested, the trip can take longer.
• Busta Shinjuku is a highway bus terminal connected to the South Exit of JR Shinjuku Station. Buses leave from the highway bus terminal on 4F.
• At Tokyo Station, this bus has two boarding points (Yaesu South Exit and Yaesu North Exit). Check the boarding point for your bus on your ticket or booking screen.

If you use the shinkansen

The Mishima-Kawaguchiko Liner is a highway bus from Mishima Station on the Tokaido Shinkansen to Kawaguchiko Station. The adult fare is ¥2,700, or ¥2,500 when booked and paid online. Example times: the bus that leaves Mishima Station South Exit at 7:20 arrives at Kawaguchiko Station at 8:40. This route is busy, so booking before you ride is officially recommended.

Costs

Train fares and limited express charges (adult, one way)

• The total for riding the Fuji Excursion from Shinjuku Station to Kawaguchiko Station is ¥4,200. To Shimoyoshida Station, the total is ¥4,010.
• The JR limited express charge in the table is the price when you buy a limited express ticket before boarding. If you board without a limited express ticket and buy one on the train, it costs ¥1,280.
• To sit in a reserved seat on the Fujisan View Express or the Fujisan Express, you need a reserved seat ticket (¥200) in addition to the fare and the limited express charge.
• You can ride the Fujikyu Railway Line with IC cards such as Suica and PASMO. When you ride with an IC card, the fare is slightly different from the paper ticket fare.

Children's fares

• Elementary school students pay children's fares.
• JR: for children, both the fare and the limited express charge are half the adult price. If halving the fare leaves 5 yen in the ones place, that 5 yen is dropped.
• Fujikyu Railway Line: the children's fare from Otsuki Station to Kawaguchiko Station is ¥590. The children's limited express charge on the Fuji Excursion from Otsuki Station to Kawaguchiko Station is ¥400. On the Fujisan View Express and the Fujisan Express, the children's limited express charge is half the adult price, and if this is not a multiple of 10 yen, it is rounded up to the next 10 yen.
• Highway buses: the children's fare is half the adult fare, and if this is not a multiple of 10 yen, it is rounded up to the next 10 yen. On buses from Shinjuku, children who have not yet started elementary school ride free. However, if such a child uses a seat on their own, the children's fare applies as a rule.

The detailed rules on children's fares are in Child Fares on Japan's Trains and Subways | When Kids Pay Adult Fare, Free Rides for Young Children, Child IC Cards.

Booking

Buying a Fuji Excursion limited express ticket

1. Limited express tickets go on sale at 10:00, one month before the day of travel.
2. You can buy them at JR East station ticket offices (Midori-no-madoguchi) and reserved seat ticket machines, on Ekinet (JR East's Japanese-language online booking site), on JR-EAST Train Reservation (an online booking site for visitors to Japan), and at ticket offices on the Fujikyu Railway Line, such as at Kawaguchiko Station.
3. JR-EAST Train Reservation sells limited express tickets only. You pay the fare separately from the limited express ticket, with an IC card or a basic fare ticket. If you are using a JAPAN RAIL PASS, you cannot make reservations on this site.

Booking a highway bus

1. Bookings open on the same date one month before the day of travel.
2. For buses between Shinjuku and Kawaguchiko, starting with the departures on October 1, 2026, the booking site depends on the company that operates the bus. Book Keio Bus services on highwaybus.com, and services run by Fujikyu Group companies on Fujiyama Connect. To change a booking to a service run by a different company, cancel the booking and buy a new ticket. A fee is charged when you cancel.
3. On some routes, the fare is lower when you book and pay online (see the highway bus table in this article). If you buy your ticket on the bus, you pay in cash. On buses from Tokyo Station, tickets bought at the boarding point are also cash only. On highway buses, you cannot pay with IC cards such as Suica or PASMO.

Luggage on highway buses

• You can take one item per person onto the bus, up to a size that fits on the overhead rack or under the seat.
• Large items such as suitcases go in the luggage compartment under the bus. Each passenger may put in up to about one suitcase's worth of luggage in total.
• When the compartment is full, your luggage may be refused at the boarding point.
• On buses from Shinjuku, passengers are asked not to put power banks in the luggage compartment.

Getting there

From Kawaguchiko Station to Fuji Subaru Line 5th Station

A local bus runs from Kawaguchiko Station and Mt. Fuji Station to Fuji Subaru Line 5th Station on Mt. Fuji. This bus cannot be booked. Passengers board in the order they line up.

• On the timetable in effect from October 1, 2026, the trip from Kawaguchiko Station to the 5th Station takes about 55 minutes.
• You can pay the one-way fare on the bus, in cash or with Suica or PASMO. Check the Fujikyu Bus website for how to buy a round-trip ticket.
• When the Fuji Subaru Line is closed to traffic, the bus does not run. Before you go, check the operating period and times on the Fujikyu Bus timetable.

Good to know

• If you change to a JR limited express at Otsuki Station on the way back: Kawaguchiko Station, Mt. Fuji Station and Shimoyoshida Station on the Fujikyu Railway Line do not sell limited express tickets for the JR limited expresses (Azusa, Kaiji) that you board at Otsuki Station. Buy one in advance through JR online booking such as JR-EAST Train Reservation, or exit through the Fujikyu Railway Line ticket gates at Otsuki Station and buy one at the JR ticket counter.
• Fares and times may change. This article is based on official information as of October 15, 2026, so check the latest information on each operator's official website before you set out.