Lake Kawaguchiko

Kawaguchiko is the second largest of the five lakes on Fuji's northern side and the one with the transport, the hotels and the sightlines, which makes it the base most visitors use. The northern shore is the place to stand: the mountain sits directly across the water, and on a still morning the reflection - sakasa-Fuji, the upside-down Fuji, the image on the thousand-yen note taken from nearby Lake Motosu - is clean enough to double the peak. Cherry trees line that shore in April and the Momiji Corridor colours in early November, both timed to frame the mountain. The Kachi Kachi ropeway climbs Mount Tenjo for a view over the lake and the peak together. The critical caveat is visibility: Fuji is clouded most summer days and appears reliably only in the cold months, best in the first hours after dawn.

What you actually see

• Fuji across the water - the northern shore is the sightline, with the reflection on still mornings.
• Cherry and maple framing - April blossom and early November colour along the same shore.
• The Kachi Kachi ropeway - Mount Tenjo, giving lake and mountain in one view.
• The transport base - direct buses from Shinjuku and a railway connection.

When to go

November to February, at dawn, for the clearest Fuji. Two days to allow for cloud.

Honest expectations

Fuji is invisible far more often than photographs suggest - summer especially. The town is a strip of hotels and shops rather than a village. Peak season buses and viewpoints are severely crowded. Weekend traffic on the approach roads is heavy.

Nearby

Oshino Hakkai is east; Chureito Pagoda is at Fujiyoshida.