Day-trip from Tokyo close to Fuji-san

Hello,

We will be in Japan in April and I know, that when there is good weather, you can even see Fuji-san from Tokyo. However I thought it would be probably nice, to have one day trip from Tokyo into the nature and getting a little bit closer to Fuji-san, take a few pictures. I know that of course this depends as well on the weather, but after reading a lot of stuff in the internet, it is not clear to me, what is the best place to travel?

We have a JR pass and it would be great, if we could use the Shikansen, because I don't want to spend too much time on the train.

I would have loved visiting the Chureito Pagoda, but to be honest, 3,5 one way traveling is probably not worth it. Hakone would be another option, because Odawara is connected to the Shikansen. Then we would need to take the bus for another 50 minutes?

I would really love to here your recommendations. Or would you say it is not worth it?

It's not 3.5 hours to Chureito Pagoda.

Shinjuku to Kawaguchiko is 2.0-2.5hrs by train, depending on services used. So as already said, the pagoda is not 3.5 hours from Tokyo.

If you have a rail pass. Then us it to get to Otsuki. Then by a 3550 Fujikyu ticket that covers the fujikyu railway and the buses around the Fuji five lakes area.

http://e.fujikyu-railway.jp/ticket/

Thanks for your reply! You are actually right, I was wrong here. It is a 2,5 hours trip.

We will first go to Shimoyoshida and then to Kawaguchiko Station. Also thanks for recommending the pass, this will definitely give us a lot of flexibilty within the region.

Also from what I am reading, it sounds like a trip which is definitely worth it.

The typical Hakone route via Odawara is to take the Izukyu-Hakone railway. It's fun.
https://www.fujihakoneizu.com/hakone/