Unforgettable Mt Fuji: Private Bespoke Tour & English Driver

On the morning of pick up at 8am, we received a message stating traffic was bad and would be 30 minutes late. The driver arrived on foot after being on the train an hour late, the good news was the car had been parked around d the corner. The driver was tired and told us the original driver was sick and he had been called to step in, we were all pleased that at least we were on our way. We asked to go to our first destination and he said we couldn’t because it was closed! So he took us to what he described as the best view , unfortunately the weather was not great, blowing a gale (obviously nobodies fault) we had coffee then drove to the shrine, we had a lovely walk then told him we wanted to have lunch close by, he persuaded us to go to the gondola for lunch then do the gondola ride, we had lunch in the horrendous tourist trap to find out the gondola was closed due to the weather. Again not his fault, but we were disappointed that we hadn’t had lunch near the shrine, we headed back, with zero photos of mt Fuji after asking numerous times to stop, eventually he did and we got the elusive photo. The driver throughout the day was not engaging, disinterested and told us numerous times he should have been having a massage. We made the best of the day but overall disappointed

Milky-san was a knowledgeable and committed guide! They stayed abreast of the weather and when and where the best views of Mt. Fuji would be. They made sure we had authentic Japanese experiences and provided context to some of the area’s cultural sites and norms. We greatly enjoyed our time in the beautiful Mt. Fuji area and its lakes. We're so appreciative of Milky-san for their time and dedication to making our private tour exceptional--and for taking such wonderful pictures of us!

We had an incredible day at Mt. Fuji! Irfan was an excellent guide and organized the trip for us so we could have the best experience with as little crowds as possible. I highly recommend going as early as possible (especially if the guide suggests starting earlier to avoid crowds and traffic). The weather was beautiful and we were able to see all sights and spend quality time at each. I highly recommend this tour and Irfan was an excellent guide!

Our driver was Zayn Malik. While our driver had thoughts about how to structure the day, he missed what would have been great view point early on. I recognize he was acting as a driver, not a guide, but I was surprised that he did not have any recommendations for a lunch venue that was not centred around fish. I did on the spot research and found a fabulous soba noodle restaurant that I encouraged him to remember for future customers. The most important thing to note is that our driver was VERY negative towards Japan and Japanese people. He was not from Japan or Japanese, so I’m confused as to why he would want to remain in Japan and work in tourism with how he thinks/feels. He even mentioned that the tour operator usually avoided putting non-Japanese customers with Japanese drivers as it might be awkward. I’d rather have some awkwardness but experience the tour with someone who at least seemed to like Japan over who we got. Both myself and my husband tried to steer the conversation towards more neutral topics and the driver continued to return to voicing his disdain for Japanese drivers, Japanese customs, and Japanese people in general. The saving grace was we had amazing views of Mt. Fuji which I know is not a guarantee. I had already made up my mind that Japan was great and Japanese people were lovely, but would be concerned for folks who might be experiencing Japan for first time and get Zayn as their driver.

Great experience with Irfan. What a fantastic day and Irfan was outstanding. We would recommend this journey to everyone. He made sure we were well looked after and always made sure we were having a great time.

Irfan was an excellent driver/guide as he was very punctual, provided insights about Japan, the culture, Mt Fuji and parks/shrines, he walked us to the various stops/locations, and took some excellent pictures for us as he knew which spots would get the best results. We had a very enjoyable tour and recommend it for all!

This was a ride not a tour. Tian reached out the evening before and suggested we start at 6am instead of the scheduled 8am to miss Tokyo traffic. He was nice, but responded with yes/no answers to our questions. His English was ok, but was hard to understand at times. He discretely spoke on the phone numerous times throughout the day. We weren’t given any choices. Our breakfast and lunch stops were basically large truck stops. The upside, and the reason for the 3 star review, was that we had a beautiful sunny day and were able to get some wonderful pictures of Mt Fuji. For the large expense I would not recommend this tour.

Crowded destinations, not much in the way of history. Guide spoke in broken English and was hard to understand.

Irfan was very friendly and knowledgable and drove us safely. He also new the best times to stop at certain places and the closest parking lots. This was a perfect daytrip that took us to the most interesting sites. Great to have the ability to reschedule, this made the trip the best experience since we got there on a nice day and saw mt Fuji dressed in the first layer of snow for the season. Would recommend to anyone for convienient and efficient way to get out of Tokyo without any worries.

This trip is weather dependent so try to pick a clear day. The summit of Fugi only appeared occasionally for us .