Our next Fuji veiwing spot of the day was Iysahi No Sato, a former farming village on the western shores of Lake Saiko (the smaller lake next to lake Kawaguchiko). The village was destroyed by a typhoon in the 60’s, but has now been reconstructed as an open air museum and craft village.
Every thatched house holds something different – From delicious soba noodles to museums and galleries. My personal favourite was the gift shop run my a lady who gave us complimentary green tea.
Being a little more out of the way, Iyashi No Sato was a lot quieter than the tourist spots around Lake Kawaguchiko, and offered a completely different perspective of Fuji San.
How to get there
From Kawaguchiko train station, get the green sightseeing bus line to Iyashi No Sato.
There are three main sightseeing bus routes around Fuji Five Lakes, the red line which takes you part way around Lake Kawaguchiko, the green line that takes you from Lake Kawaguchiko to Lake Saiko and Aokigahara forest and the blue line which travels from Lake Kawaguchiko all the way to Lake Shojiko and Lake Motosuko.
We used this really helpful map of the bus route here, which you can also pick up in physical form at the tourist information point outside Kawaguchiko train station.
We jumped on the green line at stop 1 and travelled about 50 minutes to stop 68 – Iysahi No Sato. It’s a really pleasant journey with beautiful views of both lakes and Fuji en route.
Hi, greeting from Malaysia,
I enjoyed your youtube video very much, and thank you for this blog. I went to Kawagochiko May 2019, missed the Fuji view due to cloud. Will visit again with the few places you mentioned above.
YS.
Hi!
Thank you so much – I’m so glad you enjoyed the vlog! Oh man, it’s so disappointing when it’s cloudy – Luckily though even when it’s cloudy there are some beautiful places around Kawaguchiko to visit, even without the views! Hopefully, you have clearer weather next time!