Ready to rock at Fuji Rock? Well, let’s get you to the venue so that you can do just that. Contrary to surprisingly common belief, this wild music festival is not held on the slopes of dear old Fuji-san (that’s Mount Fuji), but at the Naeba Ski Resort (relax, no snow, it’s summer) in Niigata Prefecture. Here’s how to get your air-guitaring self from Tokyo to Fuji Rock, in one piece, on time, and for cheap.
Taking the Shinkansen (bullet train) to Fuji Rock Festival
By far the quickest and most comfortable way of getting from Tokyo to Fuji Rock, the bullet train takes under 90 minutes station to station, and gives you a large amount of flexibility. The shink may not strike you as the cheapest option, but when you look at bus prices for comparison, you’ll see that they work out about the same, with the bullet train often the less expensive of the two. Plus, tickets can be booked easily from outside Japan (though you do pay extra). And if you have a Japan Rail Pass, you should be able to use that.
Note: A shuttle bus runs from Echigo-Yuzawa Station to the festival site throughout the day. A return trip is ¥500, and you pay upfront.
Taking a bus from Tokyo to Fuji Rock
If you’re buying a complete “tour package”, it will likely include tickets for a direct bus from Tokyo to Fuji Rock. You can also get bus tickets on their own—budget around ¥15,000 (on average) for a return. This is about ¥3,000 more expensive than Shinkansen tickets, depending on where/how you reserve them. The journey also takes around seven hours, which we reckon is a bit of a schlep. Note that the reservation website is in Japanese only.
Taking regular trains
Real cheapos with four hours to spare (in each direction) can take regular trains from Tokyo to Echigo-Yuzawa Station (the closest access point to Fuji Rock Festival). It costs ¥3,350 each way and requires three transfers. Have a look at Hyperdia for details. You can also take advantage of the Seishun 18 ticket for discounted rail travel.
Self-drive from Tokyo to Fuji Rock
Another option is to rent a car and drive yourself to Naeba. But the parking fee is quite steep, at ¥3,000 a day, and you must drive down with at least one other festivalgoer. Bikes and scooters get a discounted rate. Our thoughts? Train beats car in this case.
Transport sorted? You’ll need to get camping tickets or other accommodation organized too. For more in-depth information on how much to budget for Fuji Rock (and other Japanese music festivals), give our dedicated guide a read.
While we do our best to ensure it’s correct, information is subject to change. This post was first published in May, 2017 and was last updated in June, 2019.
