Private Mt. Fuji Custom Tour from Tokyo

Miscommunication leads to wasted day trip

When we first booked this day trip to Mount Fuji, we were very much under the impression we'd have a driver who spoke English or at the very least someone who could communicate with us a bit more than what we got. We had been conversing back and forth before the day of the trip with someone who was setting it all up and helping us try and figure out an itinerary and what we wanted to do. The most important things we wanted to do was go to 5th station, do the ropeway, go to Chureito Pagoda and stop and see the village of Oshino Hakai. The person we had been speaking with told us that we wouldn't have time to do both the ropeway and 5th station and recommended 5th station only as that was closer to everything else we wanted to do. So we thought the itinerary was confirmed with 5th station, Chureito Pagoda and the village of Oshino Hakai. The driver picked us up all right on time, but we quickly discovered he was not the same person we had been talking to, had no idea of the itinerary we had confirmed with the other person and he did not speak English. The only way we were able to communicate with him was thru Whatsapp. He informed us thru Whatsapp that morn that 5th station on Mount Fuji wasn't even open yet, so we needed to change our plans. So we decided to do the ropeway and we were hoping to still see every thing else. He tried to talk us out of ropeway cause of the lines, it could take up a good portion of the day, but we just decided to do it first. After a 2 and a half hr drive, the driver stopped at our first stop. He did not text me or explain where we were even at our why we were there. It was just a big parking lot and he pointed to a public bathroom and a small store. So we assumed it was just a pit stop bathroom break. We did not know that this was the village of Oshino Hakai with several small springs that we had wanted to visit. And he never told us anything about where we were. So we were just waiting for him by the van most the time waiting to go on to our next stop. We then went to ropeway and yes, there was a line but it was totally worth it. Plus it was very apparent where we were then so he didn't have to explain. After that he took us to Chureito Pagoda and we stayed there for a bit. He messaged me and said that if there was anything else we wanted to do or see it could go past the time we had paid for and told us his overtime fees. Our group agreed to pay them if we did go over. I then asked if we could go to the village. He was not sure what I was talking about, so I googled it and sent the directions to Oshino Hakai. He replied back saying that was the first stop he took us in the morn.l and that it would be out of the way to go to back to now. We were not very happy! All he needed is o do was tell us in a message where we were or be clear. So that sucked. We were all pretty disappointed as we only got to do 2 things in a 12 hour day trip that we would have had time to see 3 things. And we just told the driver to take us back home cause we no longer were willing to pay his overtime fee when we never would have had to if he communicated better with us. He was a very nice man and it wasn't necessarily his fault but I still would not recommend this service unless you have a guarantee of an English speaking driver or a an exact itinerary.

via Viator

Traffic on holidays

The tour would have been great except for the traffic we encountered. We were on the road for 4 hours. We didn’t get to see all the sights in the itinerary. Never go to Mt. Fuji on holidays or maybe weekends, too. Our driver, Sou, brought us to a Japanese restaurant and we had a delicious lunch of noodles and tempura. He, too, was so frustrated with the traffic but tried to make the most out of the limited time we had. The view from Oishi Park by Lake Kawaguchi was stunning.

via Tripadvisor

Do not use them !! Horrible experience

We had a horrible experience and I am someone who never leaves any reviews. booked a tour with a "Bilingual Driver". The night before the trip, I was told the driver was only able to communicate via a translation app. The driver only spoke Japanese . He could not understand google traslate and he had no idea about Mount Fuji, places to go.We had to keep texting the company person who would text him to make him understand us. What a waste of time. . This was a total scam. Came here to see in reviews , another person had the same problem . Not going to waste our time asking them for a refund . This will be the first time in my life that I am going to fight a charges. Do not use them unless u know how to speak japanese .

via Tripadvisor

Decent customized and adaptable private group trip to Mt Fuji

Booked this tour in late May 2023 for a family group of 8. We did have an initial itineary but once we got to the Mt Fuji area, the mountain was covered in clouds. The driver was helpful with doing a revised itineary so that we could make the most of the day with options if clouds cleared away for better photo ops. Very friendly and knowledgable driver, smooth driving and very accommodating with stops and needs

via Viator

Wasted day!

1-Overpriced. I later learned that I could have paid Y6,000/hr instead if I go directly to the agency coordinating the drivers. 2-It is not a tour. The driver came not speaking much about where we are going, not preparing the traffic condition beforehand, don’t even know my requested itinerary that I shared with the agency coordinating the drivers. He was just a driver with a big enough vehicle to fetch 6 of us around. 3- The suggested itinerary is impossible to achieve unless you do not wish to stop more than 30mins at each location (including the outlet), had a lucky day with good traffic condition

Response from the operator: Sorry for the bad experience, however, I think there may be some misunderstandings. 1 - the price Y6,000/hr is fit to the transfer in Tokyo City as we told you, not for Mt. Fuji. 2 - We mentioned in advance that the driver is only responsible for driving, he is not a tour guide and only can make a brief introduction. If you want a guide, you need to hire one; 3-What we provide is the recommended itinerary, and 10 hours is enough. The specific itinerary can be adjusted according to your requirement, but the traffic conditions are not under our control.

via Viator