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Budget ¥2,200 (about $14) per person and
about 1 h 45 to 2 h. It is both the cheapest option and the fastest.
The Japan Rail Pass covers none of the options on this trip.
Tokyo and Mount Fuji are 112 km (69 miles) apart by road.
The two ways to get there
Bus
Keio and Fujikyu direct expressway bus
Shinjuku → Kawaguchiko, no change
¥2,200
about $14 · per person
about 1 h 45 to 2 hjourney time
Japan Rail Pass: noA private company, so the pass never applies.
Who runs it
Keio and Fujikyu
A private company in western Tokyo, which runs the coaches from the Shinjuku expressway terminal. Its buses are booked on its own site, never with a pass.
Source
A small private company, from Otsuki to Kawaguchiko at the foot of Mount Fuji. Its section is always paid on top of the pass, even on a direct JR train.
Source
The most used way to reach Kawaguchiko from Tokyo: roughly two buses an hour from the Shinjuku bus terminal, with optional stops at Fujisan Station and Fuji-Q Highland. A private operator, so not covered by the Japan Rail Pass. Book ahead, the buses fill at weekends.
Fare source
JR then private
Fuji Excursion limited express
Shinjuku → Kawaguchiko, through train, no change
¥4,200
about $27 · per person
about 1 h 54journey time
Japan Rail Pass: partlyPartly covered: the non-JR leg is always paid separately.
Who runs it
JR East as far as Otsuki, then Fujikyu
The public rail network, six regional companies. The Japan Rail Pass is valid on their lines and on nothing else.
Source
A small private company, from Otsuki to Kawaguchiko at the foot of Mount Fuji. Its section is always paid on top of the pass, even on a direct JR train.
Source
Which train
Limited expressLimited express: A fast train on ordinary track rather than a shinkansen: it skips most stations. On JR it costs a supplement, which the Japan Rail Pass includes.
Source
A through train with no change of platform, ¥2,580 (about $16) base fare plus a ¥1,620 (about $10) limited express supplement, but only the JR section from Shinjuku to Otsuki is covered by the Japan Rail Pass. The Fujikyu Railway section from Otsuki to Kawaguchiko is always paid separately, even by a pass holder, so the option does not count as covered.
Fare source
Last checked August 11, 2026. The dollar figure is worked out at the exchange rate of the site's last update and
is never stored beside the yen.
A regional pass covers this trip
Less known than the national Japan Rail Pass and often far cheaper, they are only valid inside their
own area. These cover this trip end to end.
We earn a commission on the Klook links below, and it costs you nothing extra. It does not
change which pass we say covers your trip.
One trip on its own never tells you whether the Japan Rail Pass is worth it. That depends on every
other leg of the journey, and on the regional passes, which are far cheaper and cover only their
own area.
The company decides whether the Japan Rail Pass applies: JR yes, private no, whatever the train.
The train decides how long it takes. It changes nothing about the pass, with one exception: the Nozomi and the Mizuho, the only two JR trains the pass leaves out.