Aokigahara ForestTours & Tickets
Fujikawaguchiko & Narusawa · Yamanashi, Japan

Aokigahara Forest Tours

Compare every guided walk, cave trip and Fuji day that reaches the Sea of Trees.

Aokigahara Forest tours run from Kawaguchiko and Tokyo into a wood grown on lava, where marked trails link three caves the mountain hollowed out. Compare them on price, hours actually spent under the trees and what the fare covers, then hold your date with a full refund up to 24 hours ahead.

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Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead on every departure. You pay the booking platform directly when you book.

30 km²of lava forest
864 ADthe eruption that made it
From $51per person

Hours, prices and access verified by the Aokigahara Forest Tours team — last checked 2026-08-20.

Aokigahara Forest Tours›Tours & TicketsUpdated 2026-08-20
Most booked

Top Aokigahara Forest Tours for 2026

The three that suit most visitors: the cheapest guided morning from the lake, the walk that never leaves the forest, and the private day that reaches it from Tokyo.

Explore Mt. Fuji Ice Cave in Aokigahara Forest

Explore Mt. Fuji Ice Cave in Aokigahara Forest

★★★★★ 4.9 (269)3 hoursKawaguchiko Station
Gear includedPick-up included3 hours

Walk in under the canopy on bare lava, then climb down into a tube Mount Fuji left behind in the year 864. A helmet, an overall, gloves and a headlamp are handed out at the start, and the cave permit sits inside the fare along with pick-up at Kawaguchiko Station or a lakeside hotel. Three hours covers the forest floor and the ice together, which makes it the quickest way to see both if you have no car. Dress for cold whatever the month, because the temperature down there barely moves.

From $51 per person

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

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Exploring Mt Fuji Ice Cave and Sea of Trees Forest

Exploring Mt Fuji Ice Cave and Sea of Trees Forest

★★★★★ 5.0 (90)3 hoursRoadside Station Narusawa
Admission includedAll three hours in the forestShuttle included

Every minute of this walk stays inside Aokigahara Forest, which is rare enough to be the reason to book it. A guide takes the marked trail through the Sea of Trees explaining the moss, the fungi and the roots that spread sideways over basalt, then hands out a helmet and gloves for the descent into the ice. Cave admission, tax and the shuttle from around Kawaguchiko Station are all inside the price. Expect real cave footing rather than a walkway, so wear shoes you can grip in.

From $55 per person

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

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Private Mt Fuji Tour from Tokyo: Scenic BBQ & Hidden Gems

Private Mt Fuji Tour from Tokyo: Scenic BBQ & Hidden Gems

★★★★★ 5.0 (159)9 to 10 hoursTokyo
Lunch cooked on the dayTokyo or Kawaguchiko startPrivate

Lunch is cooked for you on this one, outdoors over a fire from spring to autumn and as a warm local meal in winter, with vegan plates on request. The day runs nine to ten hours through Lake Motosu, Shiraito Falls, Arakurayama Sengen Park and half an hour on the Aokigahara Forest trail, guided by one English-speaking local. Departure is yours to pick: Nakano Station in Tokyo at nine, or Kawaguchiko Station at half past ten. Nothing on the route is charged extra, which is unusual at this length.

From $283 per person

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

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See every departure
Why book with us

Trusted by Thousands of Visitors

Guided forest walks, lava-cave trips and Mount Fuji day tours from Kawaguchiko and Tokyo, with the stops, the equipment and the refund terms settled before you pay.

⛰

Guides Who Read the Lava

The guides on these walks work the same trails every week, so they can tell you why one hemlock is rooted across the rock and the next is upright, and where the ice is thickest this month. On the cave trips somebody is beside you on the ladder.

✓

Book With Confidence

Every trip here refunds in full if you cancel up to 24 hours before it starts, and the weather-dependent ones refund again if the guide calls it off. Hold your date now and decide when you can see the forecast.

🌲

A Forest Like Nowhere Else

Bare basalt underfoot, moss over everything, roots that travel sideways because there is no soil to go down into, and a lava tube that keeps its ice through August. Gear is handed out, the trails are signed, and most of these walks are done by lunchtime.

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FREE CANCELLATION up to 24 hours before your start time, on every departure listed — full refund, no questions asked.
Every departure

All Aokigahara Forest Tours & Tickets

Aokigahara Forest tours and tickets side by side — short guided walks, lava-cave descents, private cars and full days out of Tokyo. Three fares are priced for the whole vehicle rather than per seat, and the last two reach the forest only as a drive-past.

Full Day Tour to Mount Fuji with Guide in Spanish

Full Day Tour to Mount Fuji with Guide in Spanish

★★★★★ 5.0 (361)9 hoursMishima Station north exit
Spanish-speaking guideAll admissions paidStroller accessible

Guiding runs entirely in Spanish on this full day, which is the whole point of it and worth checking before you book. Eleven stops fill nine hours from Mishima Station, among them half an hour on the Aokigahara Forest trail and half an hour inside Fugaku Wind Cave, with Chureito Pagoda, Oshino Hakkai and Shiraito Falls either side. Admission to every site on the route is already paid, so the only thing left to buy is lunch. Strollers are fine here and the coach caps in the low teens.

From $93 per person

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

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Hidden Fuji drive tour with a Local English speaking guide

Hidden Fuji drive tour with a Local English speaking guide

★★★★★ 5.0 (61)6 hoursKawaguchiko and Fujiyoshida only — pickup for travellers already in the area
Per group up to 41 hour in the forestChild seat

A full hour on the forest floor is the most any driving trip here gives you, and this one is priced for the car rather than the seat. Six hours run between Lake Kawaguchiko, a shrine, a waterfall, the Dragon Cave and a hot-spring stop, with one local guide and a child seat aboard. The fare covers up to four people, which makes it the cheapest private option once there are three of you. Pick-up is limited to the Kawaguchiko and Fujiyoshida area, so it suits travellers already staying at the lake.

From $386 per group (up to 4)

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

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Mt Fuji Hidden Gem & Gotemba Premium Outlets with Local Driver

Mt Fuji Hidden Gem & Gotemba Premium Outlets with Local Driver

★★★★★ 5.0 (44)11 hoursTokyo
Hotel pick-upWheelchair accessibleYou choose the stops

Eleven hours out of Tokyo take in the widest spread of stops of any trip here, with half an hour on the Aokigahara Forest trail among them. A private minivan, hotel pick-up, bottled water and a guide working in English, Japanese or French come with the fare, and Chinese or Korean can be arranged. Cave admissions and the ropeway are charged at the door, so carry a few thousand yen for the ones you choose. You pick roughly four to six sites from a long list, which is how the day is kept to length.

From $628 per person

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

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Private Guided Tour of the Mount Fuji Region (English/French)

Private Guided Tour of the Mount Fuji Region (English/French)

★★★★★ 5.0 (40)5 hoursThe operator's shop at Funatsu
Per group up to 8Kayak includedEnglish or French

Three things fill five private hours: a paddle on Lake Kawaguchiko, a thatched artisan village, and ninety minutes walking in Aokigahara Forest with admission already paid. The kayak session and bottled water are inside the fare, and the guiding runs in English or French depending on what you ask for at booking. Pricing is per group of up to eight from the operator's own shop at Funatsu, so the cost per head falls sharply with numbers. Lunch is the one thing you arrange yourself.

From $386 per group (up to 8)

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

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Tokyo to Mt Fuji & Hakone Private Tour With Custom Itinerary

Tokyo to Mt Fuji & Hakone Private Tour With Custom Itinerary

★★★★★ 4.8 (758)10 to 11 hoursTokyo and Tokyo 23 wards
Per group up to 5Forest is optionalSix driver languages

You build the route here from a long menu, on which Aokigahara Forest appears as an optional drive-past and Fugaku Wind Cave as an optional half hour. A private vehicle, hotel pick-up, a driver working across six languages and pocket Wi-Fi are all inside a fare priced for a group of up to five. The Mount Fuji fifth station ticket, the cable car and the boat are charged separately, so plan a little cash for those. Ten to eleven hours makes it the most flexible day out of Tokyo.

From $313 per group (up to 5)

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

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Mt Fuji Hidden Gem Custom Car Tour with Licensed Guide & Driver

Mt Fuji Hidden Gem Custom Car Tour with Licensed Guide & Driver

★★★★★ 5.0 (403)10 to 11 hoursTokyo — pickup from any address
Licensed guide + driverForest is a drive-pastTokyo to Hakone

Aokigahara Forest is a drive-past on this chartered day rather than a stop, though Narusawa Ice Cave and Fugaku Wind Cave can both be chosen from the list. A licensed guide and a driver run ten to eleven hours from any Tokyo address, reaching as far as Hakone, Lake Ashi and the Owakudani valley if that is what you want from it. Entrance fees, lunch and the ropeway sit outside the fare. Choose this one for range and comfort, and one of the Kawaguchiko walks for time under the trees.

From $628 per person

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

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The destination

About Aokigahara Forest

Aokigahara Forest covers about 30 square kilometres at the north-western foot of Mount Fuji, growing on lava the mountain poured out in the year 864. There is almost no soil, so the trees root sideways across bare basalt and the ground stays uneven the whole way. Three lava tubes survive inside it, linked by marked trails, and one of them holds ice through the summer. What separates one visit from another is rarely the trail. It is how long you are actually under the canopy, and whether anyone is explaining what you are standing on.

The three lava caves

Narusawa Ice Cave keeps its ice all year, Fugaku Wind Cave holds a steady zero and once worked as a cold store, and Saiko Bat Cave runs close to 350 metres with the low ceilings to prove it. Each takes a different kind of visitor, and the one you can enter in February is not the one you can enter in January.

What grows and lives here

Hemlock and cypress hold on where there is nothing to hold on to, moss covers the rest, and the fungi layer does the work that soil normally would. Bats winter in the longest cave, birds are heard more often than seen, and the forest sounds muffled because the lava swallows the echo.

Getting there and back

Kawaguchiko is the gateway by rail or highway bus, and the Green Line Retro Bus runs from the station towards the cave trailheads. The last service back is earlier than most visitors expect, which is the single thing most likely to shorten your day.

Moss-covered lava and standing hemlock in AokigaharaDense hemlock canopy closing over a trail in the Sea of TreesThe lit passage inside Fugaku Wind Cave
Plan your day

What kind of day do you have?

The right departure depends far more on where you are staying than on your budget.

A spare morning at Kawaguchiko

Three hours is enough for the forest floor and a lava tube if you start from the lake. Both short walks collect you near Kawaguchiko Station and have you back before lunch, with the gear handed out at the trailhead.

What fits in a morning

Most booked for this: Explore Mt. Fuji Ice Cave in Aokigahara Forest — From $51 per person, free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

You came for the forest, not the mountain

Skip anything that treats the Sea of Trees as one stop among eleven. The walk that spends its whole three hours inside the forest, with cave admission already paid, is the one built for this.

The three lava caves

Most booked for this: Exploring Mt Fuji Ice Cave and Sea of Trees Forest — From $55 per person, free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

A day trip out of Tokyo

Allow nine to eleven hours door to door and accept that four of them are road. The private day with a cooked lunch starts at Nakano Station and still puts you on the forest trail.

The Tokyo day, hour by hour

Most booked for this: Private Mt Fuji Tour from Tokyo: Scenic BBQ & Hidden Gems — From $283 per person, free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Four or five of you, one vehicle

Per-group pricing changes the arithmetic completely once there are three or more of you, and two of these days are sold by the car rather than the seat. Check the group cap before you compare the headline figures.

Where per-group pricing wins

Most booked for this: Hidden Fuji drive tour with a Local English speaking guide — From $386 per group (up to 4), free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Be honest with me

Do you need a guided tour at all?

Often the answer is no, and it is worth saying so plainly.

You can walk in for nothing, and that is the honest answer

The marked trails carry no fee, no permit and no closing time, and the three lava caves sell tickets at the door for 350 yen each. Walk the signed route on your own and it costs you the bus fare.

What the trail on its own will not give you

The show caves are lit and railed; the tubes a guide takes you into are neither, and the reason one tree is rooted across the rock while its neighbour stands upright is not written on any sign. Neither is reachable without somebody who knows the ground.

Where a fare starts to pay for itself

Two bus legs, three cave tickets and a taxi when the last service has gone already come close to the cheapest guided morning, and that morning adds the equipment, the explanation and a lift back. If you have a car and only want the signed loop, keep your money.

If you have a car and you want the Sea of Trees Nature Trail and the ticketed caves, walk in and keep your money. The unlit lava tubes, the explanation of what you are standing on and a lift back after the last bus are the parts a fare buys.

See the walks that reach them

Aokigahara Forest guided tours leave from Kawaguchiko and Narusawa, and an Aokigahara Forest tour from Tokyo collects you at your hotel. Aokigahara Forest tickets for the three lava caves are sold at each door, and Aokigahara Forest ticket prices for those are 350 yen an adult.

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Before you book

What a visit to this forest actually is

Worth saying plainly, because of how many people arrive here from a very different search.

A great many visitors find this place after searching for a Japan suicide forest tour, an Aokigahara suicide forest tour, or simply a suicide forest tour. Nothing of that kind is sold here and nothing of that kind is on offer at the trailhead.

What is on offer is a walk in a national park: signed trails across a lava plain, three lit caves with tickets at the door, a canopy that swallows sound, and guides who can tell you why the trees root sideways. Visitors keep to the marked paths, and the prefecture asks the same. If you or somebody you know is having a hard time, the Japanese helplines are on the safety page.

Trail rules, the compass myth and where to find support
What you will see

The places these walks actually reach

Named, so you know what a fare buys before you pay it. Everything here sits within a few minutes of the road that crosses the forest.

Sea of Trees Nature Trail

The signed walking route through the heart of the forest, flat, easy and open at any hour, with the canopy closing overhead within a few minutes.

Narusawa Ice Cave

A lava tube that holds ice all year and was cut for cold storage from the early 1900s, entered down a steep flight with low headroom at the bottom.

Fugaku Wind Cave

A near-constant zero degrees the whole year round, which is why boxes of acorns and silkworm cocoons are still kept along its walls.

Saiko Bat Cave

The longest of the three at close to 350 metres, with side tunnels and chambers, shut from December to mid-March while the bats sleep.

Koyodai Lookout

A short climb to the one place you can see the forest as a sea — an unbroken canopy running to the foot of the mountain.

The lava floor

Rock that flowed here in 864 and never weathered into soil, which is why the roots ride over it and the ground rings hollow in places.

Every stop, one by one
What to expect

How booking a forest walk works

1

Decide how long you have

A morning at Kawaguchiko, a half day, or a full day out of Tokyo. That single answer cuts the list faster than price does.

2

Check the hours under the trees

Total length tells you almost nothing here. What matters is how much of it is spent in the forest, and every card says so plainly.

3

Book, then watch the sky

A full refund up to 24 hours ahead means holding the date you actually want costs nothing if the weather turns.

4

Turn up warm and shod

Closed shoes with grip, a fleece even in August, and a torch if you like. The caves stay near freezing whatever the month outside.

Check availability

Free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead.

Compare

Which Aokigahara Forest Tour Is Right for You?

Rating, fare, total length and the hours you actually spend under the canopy. The last column is the one that decides it.

TourRatingFromDurationIn the forestBest for
Explore Mt. Fuji Ice Cave in Aokigahara Forest4.9 (269)From $513 hours—Anyone at Kawaguchiko with a spare morning and a head for laddersCheck
Exploring Mt Fuji Ice Cave and Sea of Trees Forest5.0 (90)From $553 hours3 hours — the whole tour is inside Aokigahara ForestAnyone who came for the forest itself, not a Mount Fuji circuitCheck
Private Mt Fuji Tour from Tokyo: Scenic BBQ & Hidden Gems5.0 (159)From $2839 to 10 hours30 minutes in Aokigahara ForestA first Fuji day out of Tokyo, with the forest built inCheck
Full Day Tour to Mount Fuji with Guide in Spanish5.0 (361)From $939 hoursAbout 1 hour in the Aokigahara area — 30 minutes in the forest and 30 minutes at Fugaku Wind CaveSpanish speakers who want the whole Fuji circuit in one dayCheck
Tokyo to Mt Fuji & Hakone Private Tour With Custom Itinerary4.8 (758)From $313 per group (up to 5)10 to 11 hoursAokigahara Forest is an optional drive-past; Fugaku Wind Cave is an optional 30-minute stopGroups of four or five who want to write their own itineraryCheck
Mt Fuji Hidden Gem Custom Car Tour with Licensed Guide & Driver5.0 (403)From $62810 to 11 hoursAokigahara Forest is a drive-past on this itinerary; Narusawa Ice Cave and Fugaku Wind Cave are 15 minutes each if chosen, admission not includedTravellers who want Fuji and Hakone with the forest only in passingCheck
Hidden Fuji drive tour with a Local English speaking guide5.0 (61)From $386 per group (up to 4)6 hours1 hour in Aokigahara ForestSmall groups already at the lake who want the car to themselvesCheck
Mt Fuji Hidden Gem & Gotemba Premium Outlets with Local Driver5.0 (44)From $62811 hours30 minutes in Aokigahara Forest; Narusawa Ice Cave and Fugaku Wind Cave 15 minutes each, admission not includedShoppers and families who want Gotemba and the forest in one runCheck
Private Guided Tour of the Mount Fuji Region (English/French)5.0 (40)From $386 per group (up to 8)5 hours1 hour 30 minutes in Aokigahara Forest, admission includedGroups who want the forest plus a day on the waterCheck

Three fares are priced for the whole vehicle; every other one is per person, and each says which. Prices shown are the operators' own starting fares.

What travellers said after they came back up

Helmets with head lamps were handed out and were genuinely necessary climbing down over the ice.Colin, United Kingdom · group of four · 2026
You are not guaranteed to see the mountain, so having other stops built into the day matters.Remy, Netherlands · couple · 2026
Be prepared for real cave hiking rather than a walkway. This is not a stroll.Linda, Canada · couple · 2026
Which one is me?

Pick by where you are staying, not the price

The table compares specifications. This one picks for you. A Mt Fuji Aokigahara Forest tour and a walk that never leaves the trees are very different days.

A spare morning at the lake

Explore Mt. Fuji Ice Cave in Aokigahara Forest — From $51 per person, 3 hours. Check availability

The forest itself, not a circuit

Exploring Mt Fuji Ice Cave and Sea of Trees Forest — From $55 per person, 3 hours. Check availability

One day out of Tokyo

Private Mt Fuji Tour from Tokyo: Scenic BBQ & Hidden Gems — From $283 per person, 9 to 10 hours. Check availability

An Aokigahara five lakes tour

Private Guided Tour of the Mount Fuji Region (English/French) — From $386 per group (up to 8), 5 hours. Check availability

Four of you, one car

Hidden Fuji drive tour with a Local English speaking guide — From $386 per group (up to 4), 6 hours. Check availability

Guiding in Spanish

Full Day Tour to Mount Fuji with Guide in Spanish — From $93 per person, 9 hours. Check availability

Traveller feedback

Aokigahara Forest Tours Reviews

Thousands of ratings across these departures, and the criticism is here alongside the praise. Every rating belongs to a departure you can book directly.

★★★★★

A good morning out with a guide who knew the plants and the animals in real detail. The climb down into the cave is a little exposed but not difficult, and he watched everyone's footing. The ice formations are the payoff.

Carla · United States · Solo traveller · 2026
Explore Mt. Fuji Ice Cave in Aokigahara Forest

★★★★★

Educational and genuinely funny. Dress warmer than you think you need to, because it gets cold quickly. The walk through Aokigahara Forest before the cave was the part I did not expect.

Rajesh · India · Couple · 2026
Explore Mt. Fuji Ice Cave in Aokigahara Forest

★★★★★

Our guide told us a great deal about the history of the area, the caves and Aokigahara Forest itself. Both of us are interested in history and he pitched it perfectly.

Joshua · United Kingdom · Brothers · 2026
Explore Mt. Fuji Ice Cave in Aokigahara Forest

★★★★★

The guide was knowledgeable and openly passionate about the plants and the fungi. Aokigahara Forest was hauntingly beautiful and quieter than anywhere else we went in Japan.

Amy · United States · Couple · 2026
Exploring Mt Fuji Ice Cave and Sea of Trees Forest

★★★★☆

Be prepared for real cave hiking rather than a walkway. Aokigahara Forest and the tube underneath it are a natural, undisturbed, rugged environment. The guide was terrific, but this is not a stroll.

Linda · Canada · Couple · 2026
Exploring Mt Fuji Ice Cave and Sea of Trees Forest

★★★★★

Better than expected. Helmets with head lamps were handed out and were genuinely necessary climbing down over the ice. A lot of information about the forest and the cave came with it.

Colin · United Kingdom · Group of four · 2026
Exploring Mt Fuji Ice Cave and Sea of Trees Forest

★★★★★

Kept all four of us engaged the whole time, and collected and returned us to our hotel. The Aokigahara Forest walk was one of our favourite things in Japan.

Bonnie · United States · Family · 2026
Exploring Mt Fuji Ice Cave and Sea of Trees Forest

★★★★★

We never saw the mountain itself and it was still a good day out. The falls, the ice cave and the lakes around Aokigahara Forest more than made up for it, and we ate somewhere very good.

Marc · France · Couple · 2026
Mt Fuji Hidden Gem Custom Car Tour with Licensed Guide & Driver

★★★★★

Informative and flexible about what our family actually wanted from the day. The route was adjusted as we went and nothing felt rushed. A delightful guide and an easy day out.

Phil · New Zealand · Family · 2025
Mt Fuji Hidden Gem Custom Car Tour with Licensed Guide & Driver

★★★★★

Private costs more but it is worth it here. You are not guaranteed to see the mountain, so having other stops built into the day matters more than people expect. The barbecue was excellent as well.

Remy · Netherlands · Couple · 2026
Private Mt Fuji Tour from Tokyo: Scenic BBQ & Hidden Gems

★★★★☆

The four hundred steps are the hard part, though there is an easier way round. The shopping village was stressful and I would skip it. The driver was in great spirits throughout.

Christina · Switzerland · Couple · 2026
Tokyo to Mt Fuji & Hakone Private Tour With Custom Itinerary

★★★★★

He asked what we wanted before suggesting how to use the day. We took a boat on Lake Kawaguchiko, saw a traditional village, went into the ice caves and finished at Chureito Pagoda. The whole family had a good time.

Stuart · United Kingdom · Family · 2026
Tokyo to Mt Fuji & Hakone Private Tour With Custom Itinerary

Read all reviews
Answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Do you need a guide to visit Aokigahara Forest?
No. The marked trails are free, signed and open at any hour, and the three lava caves sell tickets at the door. A guide is what gets you into an unlit tube that is not one of those three, explains why the trees grow the way they do, and removes the last-bus problem.
How much does an Aokigahara Forest tour cost?
Guided walks from Kawaguchiko start at about $51 per person for three hours. Full days out of Tokyo run from roughly $283 per person, and the private cars are sold per group from about $313, which changes the arithmetic once there are three or more of you. Fares are the operators' own starting prices and move with the season.
Is Aokigahara Forest safe to visit?
Yes, on the marked paths. The hazard is the ground rather than anything else: lava is uneven, it hides holes under moss, and it turns slippery in rain. Closed shoes with grip and the signed route between them remove almost all of it.
How long does a tour take?
Three hours for a forest-and-cave walk starting from the Kawaguchiko area, five to six for a private half day, and nine to eleven for a full day out of Tokyo. On the long days about four hours are road, so check the time under the trees rather than the headline length.
Can you visit the ice cave and the wind cave on the same ticket?
A combined ticket covering both is sold at whichever of the two you enter first, so buy it there and keep it for the second. Single admission is 350 yen for adults and 200 yen for children. Bring coins, and allow a quarter of an hour inside each.
How do I get to Aokigahara Forest from Tokyo?
Take a train or a highway bus to Kawaguchiko, then the Green Line Retro Bus towards the cave trailheads. Allow around two hours each way. A guided day with hotel pick-up removes both transfers and the last-bus deadline, which is why most visitors coming out for a single day take one.
Do compasses really stop working in the forest?
They do not. Official Yamanashi tourism states that compasses in Aokigahara behave exactly as expected when held at normal height. Magnetite in the lava can pull a needle if the instrument is laid flat on the rock itself, and that is where the story began. Phones and handheld satellite navigation work normally too.
What should I wear?
Closed shoes with a grippy sole, because wet lava is the one genuinely slippery surface here. Add a fleece or a light jacket whatever the month: Fugaku Wind Cave sits at around zero degrees in August. Long sleeves and long trousers are asked for on the caving walks.
Are the lava caves wheelchair accessible?
The caves are not. All three have stairs, low ceilings and wet uneven floors, and none is adapted. Two of the private car days here are listed as wheelchair accessible for the above-ground stops, so a visit to the forest edge and the viewpoints is still open to you.
Is the forest open all year?
The forest and its trails are, at any hour and in any month. Saiko Bat Cave closes from 1 December to 19 March while the bats hibernate, and the other two shorten their hours in winter. Check the season before you build a day around the longest cave.
Can children go on these tours?
Most take children when an adult comes too, and the caves charge a child rate of 200 yen. The ice-cave descent involves a steep flight and headroom an adult has to stoop under, so the surface trails suit small children far better. The full-day private cars carry child seats on request.
What is the Sea of Trees?
Jukai, the Japanese name for Aokigahara, and a description rather than a nickname. Seen from Koyodai Lookout the canopy runs unbroken to the foot of the mountain and moves like water. It covers roughly 30 square kilometres.
Do the tours include cave admission?
Some do and some deliberately do not. The two short walks from Kawaguchiko and the Spanish full day cover it; most of the private car days leave it at the door for the caves you choose. Every card here says which, so carry a few hundred yen where it is excluded.
Can I cancel my booking?
Yes. Every trip listed here refunds in full if you cancel at least 24 hours before it starts, and the weather-dependent walks refund again if the guide calls the day off. Booking early therefore costs nothing but secures the date.
What is the best time of year for an Aokigahara Forest tour?
Autumn for colour and the clearest air, and late winter into spring for the biggest ice in Narusawa Ice Cave. Summer is green and humid and the caves are a relief; January to mid-March is the quietest, with Saiko Bat Cave shut.
See all FAQs
In pictures

Aokigahara Forest Gallery

Dense hemlock canopy closing over a trail in the Sea of TreesIce pillars inside Narusawa Ice CaveA guided group walking the Sea of Trees Nature TrailMount Fuji standing above the Aokigahara canopyThe lit passage inside Fugaku Wind CaveA guided winter walk through snow-dusted Aokigahara
View full gallery
Planning guides

Aokigahara Forest Planning Guides

The long reads: which cave walk to book, how a Tokyo day really breaks down, and what each price band actually buys.

Read all guides
From the blog

Aokigahara Forest Blog

Short reads that answer one question each, before you book.

Read the blog
Beyond the trees

What else the day holds

The Fuji Five Lakes sit within a few minutes of the forest edge, and Lake Saiko, Lake Motosu and the thatched village at Saiko Iyashi-no-Sato Nenba all appear on the longer days. If you are coming out from Tokyo, expect four of your hours to be road.

Things to do around the forest
Find it

Aokigahara Forest, at the foot of Mount Fuji

The map loads from Google only when you ask it to.

Aokigahara Forest (青木ヶ原樹海)

Aokigahara, Narusawa and Fujikawaguchiko, Minamitsuru District, Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan

When it is open

The forest and its marked trails are open at all hours; the three lava caves open 9:00–17:00. Morning walks are quieter and the light under the canopy is better than in the afternoon.

Where the walks start

Kawaguchiko Station, the lakeside hotels around it, and Michi-no-eki Narusawa on the road through the forest. Every route, and how long the bus takes.

The caves inside it

Narusawa Ice Cave, Fugaku Wind Cave and Saiko Bat Cave each sell their own ticket at their own door, and marked paths link all three through the trees.

Open in Google Maps

Ready to walk into the Sea of Trees?

Guided walks leave the Kawaguchiko area most mornings, from $51 per person with the helmet, gloves and headlamp handed out at the trailhead. Aokigahara Forest tours and tickets are held by the operator, and an Aokigahara cave tour or an Aokigahara guided tour can be cancelled in full up to 24 hours ahead.

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Free cancellation up to 24 hours before you go.