Mount Fuji onsen, a day from Tokyo.

This day trip ends on the Gotemba side. Its last stop is 2 hours at a hot spring or at Gotemba Premium Outlets, and you choose one; the bath is Konohana no Yu, Fuji Hakkei no Yu or Gotemba Onsen Kaikan. The onsen ticket is not in the tour price, so bring cash or a card for it.

If the bath is the reason you are going, choose it over the outlets as soon as the guide asks. Konohana no Yu has open-air tubs with views of Fuji and 19 private open-air baths; Fuji Hakkei no Yu sits halfway up the Otome Pass with a panorama of the mountain. Either is a fine end to a long day outdoors.

Each bath states its own spring. Ubuya on Lake Kawaguchi describes a mildly alkaline calcium, sodium, chloride and sulfate water, Konansou a calcium and sodium sulfate spring, and Fuji Hakkei no Yu a mildly alkaline, low-temperature spring. The labels by the bath list the details if you are curious.

What they share is the setting. Many onsen are built for the view, some as open-air baths called rotenburo, and around Fuji the view is the mountain itself. On a clear afternoon you soak with the peak in front of you; on a cloudy one, the warm water is consolation enough.

The bath gets its share of praise too. One traveler thanks the guide for explaining how lunch worked and for help getting between the outlet mall and the onsen. A guest from Japan writes that the clouds moved off just in time to see Fuji from the open-air bath in Gotemba.

Reviewers are also honest about the trade-offs. One couple suggests bringing your own lunch, since the restaurant stop is pricey, and splitting the free time between an hour at the onsen and an hour of shopping. Another traveler describes long queues at a viewpoint on a busy, clear day and a tightly packed schedule.

For the bath at the end, winter is the best season. The Japan Meteorological Agency's Kawaguchiko observatory counts 212.3 sunny hours in an average January and only 122.8 in June, so the mountain shows itself far more often in the cold months. Cold air also makes an open-air bath feel twice as good.

Spring and autumn are mild, summer is warm and often cloudy, and September is the wettest month at the lake. Whatever the date, the listing reminds you that visibility of the mountain depends on the weather and is out of the operator's hands.

Fuji Hakkei no Yu is a short drive up the Otome Pass road, open from 10:00 to 21:00 and closed on the second and fourth Thursday of each month unless that day is a holiday. It refuses bathing to people with tattoos, as the listing also notes for the baths other than Konohana no Yu.

You have 2 hours of free time at this stop. That is enough to wash, soak, rest and dress without rushing, or to split the time between a shorter soak and a walk through the outlets. Ask the guide where and when the coach leaves before you head off.

That location is useful for mixed groups. One person can soak while another shops, and you meet again at the coach. A reviewer who visited both recommends an hour at the onsen followed by an hour of shopping, which is a reasonable plan if you move quickly between the two.

Bring cash for either choice. The listing advises carrying cash because some stops may not accept cards, and lunch is not included, so you will pay for food along the way as well.

Wash at a washing station and rinse off completely before entering, then pour some hot water over yourself to adjust to the heat. Keep the small towel out of the water, folded on your head or on the side, and tie up long hair.

Leave your phone in the locker: JNTO calls cameras in the bathing area absolutely forbidden, to protect other bathers' privacy. Speak softly, do not swim or splash, and skip alcohol before you bathe. That is all there is to it.

For the bath, add a small towel and a spare pair of socks. Some day baths include towels, and Yurari, for one, hands out a bath towel and a face towel with entry, but a towel of your own in your bag saves a fee and a queue.

Lunch is not included. Bring snacks for the coach, or set aside time and cash for lunch at one of the stops. A bottle of water matters most after the bath, when you will be thirsty and the coach ride back is long.

The rule elsewhere is strict. Fuji Hakkei no Yu refuses bathing to people with tattoos, and Yurari on the north side refuses them even when covered with a sticker. JNTO notes that cover sheets generally suit only very small tattoos.

The Japan Tourism Agency told hotel and bath associations in 2016 that refusing a bath solely for a tattoo is not appropriate, but left the response to each facility. Near Fuji, Konohana no Yu is the bath that has said yes.

Lakeside inns such as Ubuya and Konansou face the mountain from many rooms, and some rooms have a private open-air bath. Their baths are generally for staying guests only, so you need a room to use them.

One well-known bath is closed: Fujiyama Onsen in Fujiyoshida has stayed shut since June, after damage found following an earthquake, with no reopening date. Check any bath's own notices before you travel.

It is a long day. The listing warns that weather and traffic, especially on weekends and holidays, may make the guide adjust or cancel stops, that drivers may work only 10 hours a day, and that weekends and holidays may be crowded; do not plan anything for the evening.

If the bath is your only goal, a private tour that ends at Konohananoyu, or a night at a lakeside inn, gives you more time in the water. If you want the mountain, the springs and a soak in one easy day, this is the simplest way to do it.