Kelvin_8,

Are you interested in visiting Hakone or Fuji Five Lakes (i.e. Kawaguchi-ko) to see Mt. Fuji? Or, are you interested in visiting Mt. Fuji’s 5th Station??

Re Hakone or Kawaguchi-ko/Fuji Five Lakes, it would be worth visit there if the weather is nice and clear. However, trains/buses from Tokyo might be crowded because Dec. 28 and 29 are ones of the busiest travel seasons in Japan. Please see

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e5210.html

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6905.html

If you are interested in visiting the 5th Station, it wouldn’t be worth it because the access roads to the 5th Station might be closed due to a lot of snow/ice.

Thanks for your info. We'll arrive Tokyo on 27 Dec 08, leaving 2 Jan 09. If 28 & 29 are busy days, what about 29, 30, 31 or 1st Jan?

Will Disneyland be very busy too?

There are 3 major holiday seasons in Japan: the Golden week (around 4/29-5/5), Obon week (around 8/12-16) & the New Year holidays (around 12/30-1/3). As many Japanese people take days (or a week) off during the major holiday seasons and travel intensely, trains/buses/traffic would be very busy. Regarding New Year in Japan, please read

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2276.html

>>> If 28 & 29 are busy days, what about 29, 30, 31 or 1st Jan? <<<

For Dec 2008, I assume that many Japanese people will leave from Tokyo on Sat. 12/27 & Sun. 12/28. If you would like to take a day trip to Hakone or Kawaguchi-ko/Fuji Five Lakes, my first suggestion would be Mon. 12/29. If the weather is bad on 12/29, my second choice for the day trip would be 12/30.

>>> Will Disneyland be very busy too? <<<

Yes, both Disneyland & DisneySea will be extremely crowded during the holiday seasons. If you would like to visit there, my recommendation would be to visit Disney between 8AM and 6PM on Dec. 31. If possible, please buy advanced tickets WITH a designated date. If you don’t have any advance tickets or have advanced tickets WITHOUT a designated date, I’d strongly recommend that you arrive at Disney BEFORE 8AM (i.e. 7:30AM) and wait at the gate. I believe Disney would close the gate during the busy holidays once the park gets full.

FYI, Disneyland/DisneySea will be closed at 6PM on Dec. 31 and will be reopen at 8:00PM for the New Year’s Eve Countdown parties, which require special tickets to enter. The tickets for the countdown parties are very hard to get as people have to apply through their lottery system.

If you don’t visit Kyoto, I’d highly suggest that you visit Kamakura on Jan. 1st for “Hatsumode,” the year’s first visit to a shrine/temple. If the weather is nice on Jan. 1, you may be able to see some Japanese people wearing Kimono. It will be a lot of fun!