Gotemba Premium Outlets: Tours & Tickets

Kawaguchiko Lake was the highlight of the trip. We only had 30 minutes but I could have stayed at least an hour. Not only were the flowers blooming but there were local booths set up to shop. These were items I didn’t see later in the trip. I felt rushed and would have enjoyed more time. The stop at Mt Fuji was nice but not a lot to do. The 7 sacred pools was another favorite of mine with just about 45 mins it could have been 15 mins longer to look around the shops. My least favorite stop was the outlet mall with an hour to spend I was bored since I have most of these shops back home. Our guide was wonderful and very patient with those that were late to arrive (50 mins) for the beginning of the tour and those that lost track of time and were late coming back to the bus. 5 minutes is one thing but 35 mins was crazy. We were still able to get back on time which makes me wonder if we would have had more time if those that were late had showed up on time.

The guide and bus driver did a good job on punctuality and some information sharing about the sights we visited. The duration per sight was okayish, for us the third sight (the ponds) can be skipped as it is only okayish for lunch, but the sight is quite boring. The outlet was surprisingly nice and we ended up buying things and needing more time in hindsight. We think it is an okay value for money, not needing to stress about the schedule and just sit and relax.

This day was really nice. Great locations, nice guide, small group, everything you like. English guidance was very good, equal to the Chinese one. Only downside was that the cable car wasn't running and so the schedule was changed without prior notice. But the change schedule was still great. Tip: Forget the shopping, go for the hot spring. We didn't see Mount Fuji in its full beauty before, in the bath you had a great view...

Guide provided enough autonomy at the various points of interest. Spoke clearly enough to be understood. Can improve further if more historical, geographical info can be provided by guide to make tour more engaging.

The gotemba outlets were a a little bit of a waste of time, as the outlets in our home country were cheaper, but a very nice experience.