From where I live, the fastest way to get to Tokyo is to drive. The second fastest way is by bus. Either way, after spending 2 hours driving up and down mountain roads, you reach the expressway onramp in Matsumoto, leading to the Chuo Expressway 中央自動車道. It extends from south Nagano prefecture and goes directly to Tokyo in about 3 hours of driving.
After traveling an hour on the highway and entering Yamanashi prefecture, Japan's most famous mountain comes into view.
Heading south on the Chuo Expressway gives you a clear view of Mt. Fuji. On a clear day, it is very visible coming in and out of view depending on the trees. The above photos were taken in November a while ago. (Taken on the iPhone while driving)
Last week, I escorted one of my students to Narita Airport, so we drove the whole way. Driving to Tokyo ends up being the cheapest way of travel when divided between multiple people not planning on staying multiple days.
While it was snow storming in my town of Takayama, the weather was pretty fair on the highway, and Mt. Fuji was clearly visible again.
My student slept through the whole thing.
We left around 8:30am and arrived at the Chiba Costco at 1:30pm. 5 hours is a pretty good time considering we stopped at a service area for about 20 minutes. After checking him into his flight and seeing him off, I went back westward and stayed the night in Kofu (cheaper than Tokyo).
Kofu is a city directly north of Mt. Fuji in Yamanashi prefecture. If you plan on going to Mt. Fuji from the north, this is the highway exit you take, and then continue south. I've stayed here a few times before planning on going to Mt. Fuji the following day.
This morning, Google Maps told me to go west to get on the highway to head back home. It brought me to the Futaba service area 双葉 サービスエリア. It was an absolutely beautiful clear bright morning, contrasting the snowy skies up in the mountains 3 hours away in Takayama.
The Service Area has an observation tower giving a clear view of Mt. Fuji.
Here's a higher resolution panoramic photo:
This was the first time I had gone up here. The Futaba service area is also a scheduled stop on the Bus Route from Takayama to Shinjuku Bus Center, so I have been at the service area many times, just not to this side of the service area.
I have another business trip to Tokyo this coming weekend, so I'll go up there again and take more photos. :)