Mt Fuji 5th Station & Seasonal Fruit Picking

Disappointing. The guide/s had no skill in dealing with the crowd of people who assemble at the hotel pickup. I did wonder if this was the first group to be taken out by the young female guide. The male English speaking guide offered about 10 sentences. It was snowing so the 50 minute stop at the 5th station became a 12 min stop at the 4th station I understand this is the risk that is run in going to Mt Fuji the 12 min stop then extended to sitting on the bus for a further 20 mins waiting for people who opted to go to the toilet as the bus was about to leave. The part of the tour which could have become a highlight was not explained and it was only by going up the cable car that the tour group realised they would get an excellent view of Mt Fuji. Now was the 15 - 25 wait at the cable car explained.Again, the tour guides did not offer useful information.

We rerouted to the fourth station due to bad weather conditions. It was a waste because there was nothing much to see and do there, except to visit the toilet. At Kawaguchiko, we went for Houtou at a reserved restaurant and went up Mt Tenjo on the Kachi Kachi Ropeway. The food was well-prepared and tasty and instructions for the railway was clear. This is the best part of the trip - with good view of Mt Fuji and the lake in the restaurant and also food at the top of Mt Tenjo. Good for taking photos and snacks. However, the duration spent there could be longer because the queue for the ropeway was rather long. At Misaka farm, the grapes were not as tasty and plenty when we were there. I think we were the last batch to visit the farm for grape picking so most of the fruits were already plucked, leaving the less tasty ones at the far end. Finally, we went to the Katsunuma winery for wine tasting. The wine was okay, but the experience was subpar. I would suggest to give this place a miss and make more time for Lake Kawaguchiko and 5th station. Overall, the tour was average because it was quite rushed. That said, the bus was very comfortable and warm. The bus guides were also very friendly, helpful and understanding. The mandarin-speaking guide was okay, but the english-speaking guide was speaking very unclearly so I couldn't understand him most of the time. Still able to get through the tour with no problems though. Would recommend if you only want a glimpse of Mt Fuji. If possible, plan a two-days trip on your own to fully utilise your time at Mt Fuji so that you can enjoy and explore the place at your own pace.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Mt Fuji 5th station. The weather was great with clear skies and it was cold but not freezing. There wasn't much snow on Mt Fuji but it was mesmerizing to see the snow being blown off the mountain by the strong winds, which almost toppled me at one point. The hotpot lunch was delicious and the views of the Lake Kawaguchi while enjoying our meal was very nice. Since we were delayed in getting to Fuji due to a traffic accident, we had very little time to enjoy the ropeway and views atop Mt Tenjo. The grape picking in Misaka was very disappointing since the grapes were not good at all. It was the end of the season so the grapes were small, mushy and did not meet our expectations of delicious fresh fruit that Japan has to offer. I'm sure the tour company knew this so they should have replaced this portion of the tour with something else. Another huge disappointment was that the narration was almost entirely in Chinese, where the Chinese speaking tour guide spoke for several minutes and the English speaking tour guide spoke maybe 2 sentences at most. This same situation happened on a prior tour we took and we are beginning to feel that Viator tours cater primarily to the Chinese. If there is a problem with finding a tour guide that can speak adequate English to keep us well informed like the Chinese, then Viator must seriously consider playing a pre-recorded narration of what the Chinese speaking guide is saying, or seriously conducting separate tours for Chinese and English speaking guests.

Amazing tour guide. Thanks for their efforts! I would recommend others this trip package.

The best tour in Tokyo!!! Very organized, food was okay. Mount Fuji was amazing. Grape picking was delicious, I loved everything about the tour. Wine tasting was awesome would love to do this again.