Mount Fuji Golf Overview: How to Plan an East–West–South–North Golf Route from Tokyo

Mount Fuji Golf Overview: Planning an East–West–South–North Route from Tokyo

When planning a trip from Tokyo, Mount Fuji almost always appears on the itinerary. For many travelers, it is a symbol, a view, a place to take photos before moving on. But for those who actually operate travel itineraries in Japan, repeatedly guide clients, and spend long periods playing golf themselves, Mount Fuji represents something very different. It is not a single destination, but a structurally complete golf region, designed to be used repeatedly rather than consumed once.

This article serves as the opening chapter of the “Mount Fuji Golf” series. Its purpose is not to introduce individual golf courses, but to clarify the overall framework: how the Fuji area functions as a golf region, why its courses are naturally divided by direction, and how those differences affect real itinerary planning. The detailed discussions of each area will follow later; here, the goal is to establish the logic that connects them.

From a geographic and environmental standpoint, the Mount Fuji area has conditions that are rare in Japan. Volcanic soil provides excellent drainage, highland forests keep summer temperatures noticeably lower than Tokyo, and the region can be reached from the capital within one to two hours. You leave the city quickly, yet immediately escape its humidity and congestion. Because of this, many companies and member-based clubs have long regarded the Fuji area as a place suitable for long-term, repeat play rather than short-term sightseeing. Many courses here are not designed so that every hole frames Mount Fuji perfectly; instead, they prioritize pacing, course routing, and stability over multi-day itineraries.

In practice, first-time visitors to Japan often want to fill their schedule with famous or member-only courses. From an operational and experiential standpoint, this approach is rarely ideal. The price difference between top-tier private clubs and solid mid-range courses can easily exceed twenty to thirty thousand yen per round. More importantly, playing three consecutive high-intensity, rule-heavy member courses is demanding both physically and mentally, and does not always deliver the best overall experience. The true strength of the Mount Fuji region lies in its variety: courses of different styles, difficulty levels, and atmospheres can be combined into a layered itinerary rather than a monotonous one.

For this reason, when planning golf around Mount Fuji, I usually recommend starting in a more relaxed, accessible area and gradually moving toward more demanding courses. A common and effective structure is to begin with southern routes that allow players to adapt to Japanese course rhythm, then transition eastward to more competitive layouts, and finally finish in the northern highland area with a premium or member-based course as the climax of the trip. This approach balances cost, physical condition, and experience, while also allowing players to see Mount Fuji from very different perspectives—resort-like, competitive, and highland-quiet—over the course of the journey.

Because course characteristics around Mount Fuji vary so clearly by direction, this series will continue by breaking the region into distinct areas rather than listing courses by name. Future articles will focus on the Izu–Kawana–Mishima area, the Gotemba area, the Kawaguchiko–Narusawa area, and the Fujinomiya area. Each piece will explain the role that region plays within an overall itinerary: which areas are best suited for warming up, which work well as mid-trip transitions, and which are most effective as a final highlight. The objective is not to recommend individual courses in isolation, but to provide a consistent framework for selecting and arranging golf courses in Japan in a way that is flexible, repeatable, and economically sensible—rather than a one-time indulgence.

This first article sets the foundation. The following four will build upon it, each returning to the same logic, so that the Mount Fuji golf route can be understood as a coherent system rather than a collection of famous names.