Top attractions in Oshino Hakkai

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.

We took the  “Mt. Fuji Full-Day Scenic Bus Tour from Tokyo” with Japan Panoramic tours at the last minutes, and we were glad we did. The tour was well organized. The bus was clean and seats were comfortable. But most impressive was our tour guide. His name was Blair. He was from Australia but spoke both English and fluent Japanese. Very impressive we thought! He is very knowledgeable about the Mount Fuji history and the surrounding area. His good sense of humor made the long drive was enjoyable. Blair was Very professional but also friendly and courteous. We would definitely recommend this tour company and if you are lucky to get Blair as your tour guide, you are in good hands! I’d definitely recommend this tour. Again, ask for Blair as your tour guide if you can!

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.

Levin has been the best guide ever in this very precisely scheduled tour. Weather was on our side and amazing as we saw Fuji San all day ! Fuji park attraction is very average, useless and skip it would allow more time at the other places. All in all it was a very nice day and mostly recommandable.

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.