Shiraito falls (Karuizawa) bus route

Hello,

I am travelling to japan late august (yes i'm a little afraid for the hot weather, but i couldn't plan another date because of my job).

First of all, my trip will be mostly based on photography. Culture/Architecture both old and modern/landscapes/nature. I'm taking with me a 5dII and 50d with 50 1.8 and 24 ts-e 3.5 and 70-200 F4 with compact tripod.

First i will be visiting Kyoto for 4 days, photographing culture/temples/geishas in gion etc. I planned to visit Osaka for one (one of those 4) day because someone recommended me.

Then after 4 days, i have one day before my 5 day stay in Tokyo, which will be completely dedicated to modern architecture (nightscapes/long exposures) and markets (fish). Ofcourse there's also time reserved for some shopping there.

Anyway, to get back to that one day. I love to photograph some landscapes as well. And the Shitaito falls attracted me as Lake Yamanaka to photograph Mt. Fuji. Now to visit the Shiraito falls there's only documentation on a bus travelling from Karuizawa St. which takes 30 minutes. That's not so long but when i check google maps, it's quite a distance. I was wondering if i could stay at a hotel close to the lake mentioned (Lake Yamanaka) and travel from there by bus to the Shiraito Falls. (i know there is a road going from the lake to the falls, the 138 and 139 called the fuji panorama line) I don't know if there's a direct connection between those POI, but i sure hope so. I would really like to spend that one day photographing both the waterfalls and Mt. Fuji from a lake with a great view, together with an easy accessible hotel nearby. I don't want to hike for hours! After that i hope my batteries are fully charged to visit Tokyo (which isn't that far from Mt. fuji anymore).

If you have any other suggestions, please let me know. I would really love to hear your suggestions.

Thanks in advance,

Marcus

p.s. I have absolutely no skills in japanese language.

Note that there are 2 different Shiraito Falls, one near Karuizawa and the other SW of Mt. Fuji near Fujinomiya.

The one near Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture:
http://www.slow-style.com/detail/index.cfm?shop_id=416
http://web.hustle.ne.jp/fallscape/cgi-bin/wf.cgi?ref=wname&lang=e&pref...

The one in the Fuji area, Shizuoka Prefecture:
http://www.world-of-waterfalls.com/asia-shiraito-waterfall.html
http://web.hustle.ne.jp/fallscape/cgi-bin/wf.cgi?ref=wname&lang=e&pref...
http://www.mustlovejapan.com/subject/shiraito_fall/ (has a short video)

Hello William,

Thank you for telling me. I actually mean the white threads waterfall. Which happen to be much closer to karuizawa station that clarifies the 30min bus ride. So by that fact does this mean i can't combine a visit to both Lake yamanaka and the shiraito falls close to karuizawa station? I hope there's some quick connection like a train & bus combination i could take. To be honest, i would also combine this day with the Kamakura buddha statue. I'm not sure if that's possible at all.

I think i need max 2 hrs for the falls to photograph, Max 3 hrs for the lake & mt. fuji and 2 hrs for the statue. I was hoping to book a hotel close to the lake (so i can spend photographing the mountain at sunset & sunrise before i depart to tokyo).

Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Marcus

I don't think there is any direct bus from Yamanaka-ko to Shiraito Falls near Karuizawa. There is a 2+ hrs bus from the lake to Shinjuku in Tokyo and then about 1.5 hr JR to Karuizawa. Plus the 30 min bus ride from Karuizawa it is more than 4 hrs from Yamanaka-ko to Shiraito Falls. And you also have to take into account that there may not be immediate JR connection in Tokyo to Karuizawa upon arriving back from Yamanaka-ko. Neither will it be immediate bus connection to Shiraito Falls upon arriving in Karuizawa. So it seems at least half a day is spent on the road from Yamanaka-ko to Shiraito Falls, not to mention you still want to include Kamakura and return to Tokyo for the night!

As for photography, I love taking pictures too but not a professional photographer. Shiraito Falls is small and we spent no more than 30 min there. For Yamanaka-ko, we are going there later this month. If you are after the Diamond Fuji sunset effect, we read that summer is not the time for it. The best time is said to be during Jan and Feb when the winter sky is more likely to be clear for a good view of Mt. Fuji.

Sorry if the above doesn't sound too promising.

Hi William,

Thanks again. And when i want to visit the shiraito falls southwest of Mt. fuji? Is there a bus connection that runs over the fuji panorama line that goes round mt. fuji? That would be a great 2nd choice since this image of the shiraito falls southwest from mt. fuji looks awesome as well: http://www.flickr.com/photos/davejp/2670149274/

Marcus

I see that there are bus stops all the way on the 414 road from Fujinomiya station on google maps, but i can't figure out which bus goes there: http://g.co/maps/8pv7g.

I hope you can help me with this?

Marcus

Shiraito Falls is on the bus route between Kawaguchi-ko and Fujinomiya. Kawaguchi-ko would be a good base if you want to visit both Shiraito and Yamanaka-ko. The bus journey from Kawaguchi-ko to Shiraito is about 70 min. http://bus.fujikyu.co.jp/line/jikokuhyo/02.html

BTW, while visiting Shiraito Falls don't miss nearby Otodome Falls.