Mt. Fuji in Gotemba or Kawaguchiko?

Hello ,

Me and my boyfriend will be going to Japan in about a week.

On 2nd Dec , We are planning to go to see Mt. Fuji but as we have a limited time ( maybe half day morning ) and our purpose is just to take a picture of Mt. Fuji... However , i am deciding where to go between Gotemba or Kawaguchiko. I saw pictures of Mt. Fuji view in Gotemba which looked quite good but somehow i was told there isn't a good view of Mt. Fuji in Gotemba so that is making confuse.

Anyone can suggest me where is the best place for us to go with a limited time and a limited budget ( i dont have JR rail pass ) ?

Thank you.

For nice natural surrounding and a relatively high chance of actually seeing the mountain, I recommend the Fuji Five Lake region:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6900.html

How to get there:
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e6905.html

I went to Kawaguchiko around a week and a half ago after keeping my eye on the weather forecast as well as this livecam:

http://www.fujigoko.tv/live/camera.cgi?n=12&u=

I know this may not be possible for you but I had kept several days flexible so that I could go when the chance of cloudless weather was at its minimum. I also had a railpass so I made use of the JR Limited Express (Azusa or Kaiji) from Shinjuku to Otsuki where you transfer to the Fuji Limited Express to get to Kawaguchiko Station. This takes around 2 hours and the total one way cost runs around Y3600 (Y2490 of this is covered by the railpass). The cheapest route via rail is around Y2000 one way using commuter trains and takes around 3 hours (there is a slightly simpler route requiring less transfers using the JR Chuo line from Shinjuku to Otsuki but costs a slight bit more; Y2360 one way to Kawaguchiko). This requires taking the the Keio Local line from Shinjuku to Kitano, transferring at Kitano to Takao via the Keio Takao Local line, transferring to the JR Chuo line at Takao to Otsuki, and finally transferring to the Fuji Limited Express to Kawaguchiko. The Keio portion costs Y350, the JR Chuo portion costs Y570, and the Fuji Limited Express costs Y1110 (all one way).

Taking a bus will probably be the best option for you folks though since it is the cheapest and takes around the same amount of time as the train.

The view from Kawaguchiko is nonetheless spectacular so long as the weather is clear. You get incredible views of the mountain when the Fuji Limited Express gets closer to Kawaguchiko Station (the bus will probably offer similar inbound views). From the station itself, the mountain is right in front of it offering perfect photo ops. Here is one of the pictures I took from the opposite side of the street looking back towards the station:

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/2576/fujifromkawaguchikosta...

For an even better view, go to Mount Tenjo. The retro bus makes it there in around 10-15 minutes and there is a ropeway (approximately Y700 roundtrip) which takes you up to the top. Here is a picture from one of observation points:

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/8495/fujifromtenjoaj9.jpg