Tokyo to Kawaguchiko by Bus: Fares, Booking and Train Option

Which bus to take from Tokyo

Two companies run the main Shinjuku route together: Fujikyu Bus and Keio Bus. Keio Dentetsu Bus runs the English booking site, and Fujikyu publishes the Japanese route pages. Their fares match for the standard ticket (checked 12 October 2026):

Sources: Keio's Lake Kawaguchiko route page for Shinjuku and Shibuya, and Fujikyu's Shinjuku route page and Tokyo Station route page. Fujikyu says the Tokyo Station route is run by Fujikyu Bus, Fuji Express and JR Bus Kanto.

Shinjuku is the default. The bus leaves from the expressway bus terminal on the 4th floor of Busta Shinjuku, which is connected to the South Exit of Shinjuku Station. Fujikyu's page lists stops along the Chuo Expressway, ending with Shimo-Yoshida, and notes that stops can vary by departure. Fuji-Q Highland is the stop before Kawaguchiko Station.

Tokyo Station suits you if you are staying near Tokyo Station, Nihonbashi or Ginza. Fujikyu names the Yaesu South Exit bus stop and a second stop at Yaesu North Exit (Tekko Building), so check which one your booking shows. Its page gives bay 8 at Yaesu South but says the bay can change.

Shibuya costs ¥100 more and takes longer because it goes by the Tomei Expressway. Keio notes that Shibuya buses do not stop at Chuo Expressway Shimo-Yoshida.

The Shinjuku page also mentions a lower adult fare, ¥2,000 to Fuji-Q Highland or Kawaguchiko Station, for online booking with web payment on Fujikyu's own reservation system. Keio's English site shows ¥2,200. Use whichever site you can book on, but expect ¥2,200 unless the fare shown at checkout is lower.

Reservations, payment and cancellation

Walk-up tickets are possible: the Highway-buses.jp FAQ says you can buy without a reservation but advises booking to secure a seat, and warns that a full bus means no ticket. Fujikyu's Q&A says PASMO cannot be used on its highway buses, so a transit card is no help here; if you are still deciding which card to carry for city trains, see our guide to Suica, PASMO and foreign cards in Tokyo.

You cannot change a paid booking. The highwaybus.com FAQ says to cancel and book again, and refunds go back to the card used, which can take a while because refund notices go to card companies once a month.

For the Fuji Five Lakes–Shinjuku line, Fujikyu Bus's Q&A sets these cancellation charges (checked 12 October 2026):

• Up to two days before travel: ¥100 fee
• After that, up to 10 minutes before departure: 50% of the fare
• From 10 minutes before departure: no refund

The Q&A wording for the 50% band is unclear (literally "until 10 minutes before, the day before boarding"), so if you cancel the day before or on the day, confirm the amount on the cancellation screen. Fujikyu's Shinjuku route page also says fares are not refunded if the bus arrives late because of traffic or weather.

Luggage on the bus

Fujikyu's Q&A limits hold luggage to roughly one suitcase per passenger, and says bags can be refused at the stop if the hold is full. The Keio FAQ adds that the operators accept no responsibility for loss or damage to bags in the hold, and that you load and unload your own bags. Do not put a power bank in the hold; Fujikyu's route pages ask passengers not to.

Bicycles must be folding or dismantled and bagged, are not allowed on double-decker buses, and may be turned away if the hold is full, because luggage space cannot be reserved (Shinjuku route page). The Tokyo Station route does not take bicycles.

Bus or Fuji Excursion train

The Fuji Excursion is a limited express from Shinjuku that runs on through JR East and Fujikyu Railway tracks to Kawaguchiko Station. Fujikyu Railway's Fuji Excursion page says (checked 12 October 2026):

• 4 round trips a day, plus 1 seasonal extra; some start from Chiba
• Fastest Shinjuku–Kawaguchiko time: the page heading says 1 hour 53 minutes, but its timetable shows 1 hour 54 minutes
• Shinjuku–Kawaguchiko costs ¥4,200: ¥2,580 fare plus ¥1,620 limited express ticket
• No non-reserved seats; "seat-unspecified" tickets are sold only for trips within the Fujikyu line, so from Shinjuku you need a reserved seat
• On sale from 10:00 one month before travel, through JR East's Eki-net, JR ticket offices and reserved-seat machines, major travel agencies and five Fujikyu stations

Example: a couple's return trip from Shinjuku

The bus saves the couple ¥8,000, and on paper it is also about ten minutes faster. Fujikyu's page does not label the ¥4,200 as the adult fare, though it lists child rates separately. The bus is the better default for most people.

Switch to the train when:

• The buses you want are full. Both go on sale a month ahead, so check both on the day booking opens.
• You travel at a weekend, on a holiday or in peak season. Fujikyu Bus's loop-bus page currently carries a notice that heavy traffic in the Fuji Five Lakes area is causing major delays, and late buses are not refunded. A train is not held up by road traffic.
• You need to arrive by a fixed time, for a tour, a ropeway slot or a connection.
• You carry more than one big bag per person. The bus hold allows roughly one suitcase each and can turn bags away when full.

The train fare part of the ticket is ¥2,580, and fares are charged by distance, so slower trains without the limited express ticket (JR to Otsuki, then Fujikyu Railway) cost less than the Fuji Excursion. On Fujikyu Railway, its fare table lists Otsuki–Kawaguchiko at ¥1,170 for an adult paper ticket, plus ¥400 if you take a Fujikyu limited express on that section. We could not open JR East's own pages to confirm the JR part or connection times, so check the JR fare when you book.

If you are flying in and heading straight to the lake, the Fujikawaguchiko Tourism Association's access page also lists Fujikyu buses from Haneda and Narita airports. Compare them with the airport-to-city options in our guide to getting from Narita and Haneda to central Tokyo if your flight lands late.

Getting around once you arrive

From Kawaguchiko Station, Fujikyu runs sightseeing loop buses (the "Omnibus" lines). Fujikyu's loop bus page shows (checked 12 October 2026):

• Red line around Lake Kawaguchiko: about every 15 minutes, 9:00–17:45 from the station
• Green line around Lake Saiko: about every 30 minutes, 9:10–16:40
• Blue line to Narusawa, Lake Shoji and Lake Motosu: five departures a day

Passes are sold at the bus ticket counter at Kawaguchiko Station and online. For a day trip with several stops around the lake, the one-day coupon is the simple choice; the ¥3,300 pass only pays off if you will use the ropeway as well.