Hello! I’ll be going to Japan with friends soon, and for one of the days – a Saturday – we’ve planned a day trip out to the Fuji area (I know it’s not climbing season but we still thought it’d be nice to see and get near the mountain).
Instead of taking the Fuji Excursion train straight from Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko Station, we decided to break our journey into segments so we can get off at certain stops for extended periods (namely to see the Chureito Pagoda at Shimoyoshida).
As our itinerary currently stands, we plan on using our JR passes to get from Shinjuku to Otsuki Station, where we plan on switching to the Fujikyu line and purchasing a ticket to Shimoyoshida. After seeing the pagoda, we’ll then buy another ticket to get to Kawaguchiko Station i.e. Mt. Fuji. To return, we’ll get a ticket straight from Kawaguchiko to Otsuki, from where we’ll get back to Shinjuku with our JR passes.
These Fujikyu Railway trips between Otsuki & Kawaguchiko are my area of concern, as it seems by all accounts that – since these are local lines – we cannot purchase these tickets in advance and can only do so at the stations. The only exceptions would be the Fujikyu Limited Express trips, which don’t work with our schedule and don’t have much availability left anyway. Will we be able to buy all these tickets on the day of our trip – all essentially within an hour of the departure times – without issue, or is there a chance that these trains will be fully booked? Also, is there actually a way to buy Fujikyu local line tickets in advance that I’m not aware of? Appreciate any assistance!
by throwaway581133