REGIONAL GUIDE — JAPAN
Yamanashi & Shizuoka Prefectures · northern and eastern foothills of Mt Fuji
A journey to Mt Fuji is not only about the summit. Lakeside mornings, lava forests, spring-fed villages and the town where oshi once welcomed pilgrims make the foothills a place to stay, not just to pass through. The photographs show the region, not properties for sale.
OVERVIEW
The Mt Fuji foothills, from the Fuji Five Lakes and Fujiyoshida in Yamanashi to Gotemba and Oyama in Shizuoka, combine lake scenery with lava forests and caves, a pilgrimage town, spring-fed villages and venues such as Fuji Speedway. Investors look here because the area offers reasons to stay beyond the view itself. Yamanashi recorded 9,935,970 guest nights in 2025, 27.7% of them by foreign guests (prefecture-wide, confirmed). Since a view of Mt Fuji can never be guaranteed, each property must be judged on access, winter conditions and its own records.
Photos show the region, not properties for sale.
THE AREA
The Fuji Five Lakes are not one large lake: each has its own shoreline and its own way of spending time. Kawaguchiko suits days of food and cultural sites, Saiko suits forest walks, and Shojiko and Motosuko suit quiet mornings by the water. Fujiyoshida's oshi town and Oshino's springs show the faith and daily life that grew around the mountain, while Gotemba, on the eastern side, offers a villa garden, springs and motor sport.
In Fujiyoshida, the houses of the oshi welcomed people who travelled to Mt Fuji as an act of faith, from the Edo period into the Meiji era. The Yoshida Fire Festival belongs to Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine and Suwa Shrine and is closely tied to the Kamiyoshida district; a record from 1572 already notes the route of the portable shrine, a sign of how long the community has carried this festival.
In modern times the mountain became a subject of literature and photography. Local tourism guides introduce Tenka-chaya in Misaka as the place where Dazai Osamu worked out One Hundred Views of Mt Fuji; the photographer Okada Koyo first visited Oshino in 1916; and in Gotemba, the villa where Prince and Princess Chichibu lived from 1941 for about ten years became a park in 2003.
PLACES TO KNOW
The guide divides the foothills into six sub-areas: Lake Kawaguchi, Lake Saiko and Aokigahara, Lake Shoji and Lake Motosu, Fujiyoshida, Lake Yamanaka and Oshino, and Gotemba and Oyama. Each gives guests a different reason to stay. For an inn, the differences are practical: a lake may be close but the walking route is not always simple, cave and forest paths need the right footwear, bus services are limited, and event days change traffic.
A lakeside base that easily combines walks, meals and cultural sites. Guests using the loop bus need to know their stop and the return service, and the walk from an inn to the shore can involve slopes and road crossings.
Lake and lava land together: the Aokigahara forest, the Fugaku Wind Cave and the Saiko Nature Center. Visitors stay on permitted paths and follow guides; caves and forest differ in footing and temperature.
A small lake with mountain views and a lake known for its broad expanse of water. The Panorama-dai viewpoint is a longer hike than a lakeside stroll, and bus frequency and walking distance from stops need checking.
Kitaguchi Hongu Fuji Sengen Shrine, the oshi houses and Arakurayama Sengen Park with the Chureito. Fujisan Station and Shimoyoshida Station serve different destinations, and Yoshida udon is the local lunch.
The Yamanakako Literary Forest with its Tokutomi Soho and Mishima Yukio museums, and Oshino Hakkai, eight spring-fed ponds tied to faith and farming life. The ponds sit within a living village, so visitors keep to public paths.
The Chichibunomiya Memorial Park, the Futago and Numata springs and, in Oyama, Fuji Speedway. On event days, entry, parking and the route back to the inn work differently from ordinary days.
SEASONS & TRAVEL
Spring brings blossom to parks in Gotemba and Fujiyoshida; summer means lakes, forests and the Yoshida Fire Festival; autumn colours the water and trees; winter offers clear skies alongside indoor culture. Blossom and a clear view of the mountain are separate conditions, and no season guarantees the view. Winter calls for preparation against icy roads and strong winds, and climbing to the summit needs planning separate from foothill sightseeing.
Good stays here are built with alternatives for cloudy or rainy days: lava caves, the literature museums, the oshi town, and local food such as Yoshida udon, hoto noodles in miso, Oshino soba and Gotemba's Mikuriya soba.
Suggested trips are short and focused: one night by Lake Kawaguchi, then Saiko's forest and the Fugaku Wind Cave; two nights for the shrine and oshi town, Oshino Hakkai and the Literary Forest; or a night in Gotemba for the park, local food and the springs, adjusted to the Fuji Speedway calendar when an event is the purpose of the trip.
THE LODGING MARKET
Japan Tourism Agency figures for 2025 show 9,935,970 guest nights in Yamanashi Prefecture, with foreign guests at 27.7%, and 22,407,160 guest nights in Shizuoka Prefecture. Ryokan room occupancy in Yamanashi was 34.4%. These figures cover each whole prefecture, not the Fuji area alone or any single property; a property's own monthly results must be laid over these regional patterns.
| Guest nights, Yamanashi Prefecture | 9,935,970 2025 (Jan–Dec), confirmed · source |
|---|---|
| Share of guest nights by foreign guests, Yamanashi | 27.7% 2025 (Jan–Dec), confirmed · source |
| Ryokan room occupancy, Yamanashi | 34.4% 2025 (Jan–Dec), confirmed · source |
| Licensed ryokan and hotel facilities, Yamanashi | 1,325 As of 31 March 2025 (end of FY2024) · source |
| Guest nights, Shizuoka Prefecture | 22,407,160 2025 (Jan–Dec), confirmed · source |
BUYING & RUNNING AN INN HERE
Around Mt Fuji, conditions change between lakeside, town, mountain pass and climbing trail. Buyers should check winter access, snow clearing and icing, and the inspection records for heating and hot water building by building. Prepare for days when the mountain cannot be seen, and run event-day traffic and parking guidance from the organisers' published information. What follows is a checklist, not legal advice.
Check the approach road in winter, how snow and ice are handled, walking routes with luggage and pick-up conditions across differences in elevation, both on site and in records.
Do not judge a building's condition from regional photographs. Review the inspection history for heating, hot water and other equipment for the specific property.
List rainy-day destinations and their closing days, and confirm booking, cancellation and bad-weather rules with each activity operator. Avoid promising a view or unconditional activities.
Blossom season at Arakurayama, the fire festival and speedway events change traffic controls and parking. Plan guest arrival, luggage handling and local roads, and keep organiser information up to date. A property's own operating days, rooms, equipment and contracts need separate verification.
An inn needs a licence under the Inns and Hotels Act (旅館業法); Yamanashi and Shizuoka each handle licensing and succession through their own offices, and hot-spring use falls under the Hot Springs Act (温泉法). Confirm these, fire safety and building-law compliance with the authorities and a licensed professional.
FAQ
This guide is a broad regional overview of six sub-areas from the Fuji Five Lakes to Gotemba and Oyama; it does not show where any listing is located. Its photographs show landscape and culture, not properties for sale, and its market figures are prefecture-wide statistics for 2025. Legal and tax questions should be checked with the authorities and a licensed professional.
No. The photographs are reference images of landscape and culture with their locations stated. They imply no business relationship with the places shown and do not show the location of any property for sale.
No. They are the Japan Tourism Agency's confirmed 2025 figures for the whole of Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures. Municipal figures and a property's own monthly results must be checked separately.
No. The view cannot be guaranteed in any season, as clouds and rain can hide the mountain. Inns in the area plan alternatives such as museums, the oshi culture, caves and local food.
At a minimum, the licence under the Inns and Hotels Act, any hot-spring rights under the Hot Springs Act, and fire-safety and building-law compliance. Requirements depend on the property and prefecture, so check with the authorities and a licensed professional.
Reviewed by Masayuki Tsutsumi, Representative Director, Japan Realtor Co., Ltd. · Updated 2026-10-29 · Masayuki Tsutsumi
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