A Guide to See Mt. Fuji in its Full Glory

Our 10-day trip to Japan includes Mt. Fuji in the itinerary. We decided to stay for a night at Fujiyoshida so we can be early and grab a nice spot in anticipation of that perfect moment with Mt. Fuji.

So we travel from the City lights of Tokyo to the Country-side, to the laid-back Fujiyoshida.

How To Get There:

Take the JR Chuo Line and go west to Otsuki Station, then transfer to Fujikyu Line. If you are a JR Pass holder, the Fujikyu Line is not covered by your JR pass and you need to pay 960 yen each from Otsuki to Gekkoji Station. Travel Time from Otsuki to Gekkoji is about 45 minutes.

Where to Stay:

We stayed at Mt. Fuji Hostel Michaels. The hostel comes with a view of Mt. Fuji and is a 4- minute walk from Gekkoji Station and 3-km from Fuji-Q Amusement Park.

We stayed at their ryokan style room with futon-style beds and chabudai dining table.

Best Spot to see Mt. Fuji:

They say that there is a higher chance of getting that picture perfect moment with Mt. Fuji in the morning. As early as 5:45am, we trekked to the iconic Chureito Pagoda on the hilltop facing Mt. Fuji in Arakuyama Sengen Park.

After 400 steps, the snow white-capped Mt. Fuji welcomed us in its full glory.

15 Things To Do / Places To Visit in Tokyo

Minsan nangarap akong magkaron ng sariling travel show. Dahil hindi naman ako celebrity, nag self-produce nalang ako :-)

Inspired by Sandy Daza's Food Prints and Travel Channel's Pacific, I asked my husband to take videos of me and follow my lead during our 10-day travel in Japan. (hindi lang producer, director na din!)

Click here for the 10-day itinerary

We stayed in Tokyo for 5 days and here is our itinerary:

Day 1
Arrival 
Check-in at Hotel Horidome
Shibuya Crossing
Kabukicho, Shinjuku

Day 2
Odaiba
Ginza
Tokyo River Cruise / Sky Tree
Harajuku

Day 3
Ueno Park
Tokyo Imperial Palance
Sensoji (Asakusa) Temple
Roponggi

Day 4
Tokyo Disney Sea

Day 5
Travel to Fujiyoshida

The video below highlights our Tokyo trip. It was tiring yet happy that we were able to pull this off without any guide. Hindi kami naligaw! yahooo!

Tips and Tricks 

1. Buy a 4G Unlimited internet SIM. It is easy to get lost in Tokyo. You need google maps for directions and local train schedules and apps like Hyperdia for shinkansen schedule. Thank me later!

2. Buy a 72-hr Tokyo Subway Metro Card. It will save you money and a lot of time than buying train tickets using the machine.

3. If you are visiting more than 7 days in Japan and will also be traveling to Osaka, get a 7-day JR Pass. It actually depends on your itinerary and length of stay, pero if magpapabalik balik kayo, this is super sulit.

4. The average meals in Japan costs around 1,000 yen or 500 pesos, sa mga nagtitipid, you can get real meals at 7-11 for only 150 to 500 yen or 75 to 250 pesos. Try also Yoshinoya, our comfort restaurant in Tokyo. 

5. Good Luck!

Hotel - Hotel Horidome Villa 

 1 Chome-10-10 Nihonbashihoridomecho, Chūō, Tokyo 103-0012, Japan

What I love about this hotel is that they provide their guests free use of smartphone with unlimited internet which you can use outside during your stay in the hotel. But of course, you have to return it upon check-out.

It is also near subways which will take you about 10 to 20 minutes walk

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Comment here and please feel free to ask questions, I'll be very happy to make chicka with you.

10 Days in Japan Itinerary for First Timers

If you were given 10 days in Japan, where will you go?

After preparing for at least a year, we were able to visit 5 prefectures in Japan during our stay from 30 November to 09 December 2018.

Here is our itinerary for 10 days. Of course, it depends on your preference and priorities, but for my husband and I, this is the perfect itinerary for us. This is a full-packed itinerary and involves a lot of walking and shopping.

TOKYO
Day 1 - Arrival at Tokyo / Shibuya, Shinjuku
Day 2 - Odaiba, Ginza, SkyTree,  Harajuku
Day 3 - Ueno, Chiyoda, Asakusa, Roponggi
Day 4 - Disney Sea

YAMANASHI
Day 5 -  Travel to Fujiyoshida
Day 6 - Chureito Pagoda, Travel to Osaka

OSAKA
Day 7 - Universal Studios  Japan, Dotonbori

KYOTO
Day 8 - Fushi Inari, Gion District

HIROSHIMA
Day 9 - Miyajima Island, Peace Park

Day 10 - Cup Noodles Museum, Osaka Castle

EXPENSES for 10 days (for 2 pax)
Cebu Pacific Tickets with 20kls baggage allowance and travel tax - 31,000
Visa single (promo at JTB at 600@) -1,200
7-day JR Pass (Klook) for 2 - 25,220
72 hrs Tokyo Subway Pass for 2 (Klook) - 1,382
SIM Card 7 days for 2 (Klook) - 1,500
4N Hotel Horidome (Tokyo) - 12,013
1N Mt Fuji Hostel Michaels (Fujiyoshida) - 3,644
4N Hotel Chuo Oasis (Osaka) - 13,665
Universal Studios Japan - 6,984
Tokyo Disney Sea - 6,600
Food, Pasalubong, Shopping Pocket Money Other Fare etc. - 30,000
   (average meals cost 500 pesos per meal)

Total : 133,2018 or 66,6104 per pax

I will blog about the details on my next posts, for the meantime, here is a teaser during our trip. Hope you enjoy!