DroneMt Fuji & Kawaguchiko · Yamanashi Prefecture

Aerial portrait in the landscape in Mt Fuji & Kawaguchiko

In short

An aerial portrait at Mt Fuji costs $530 for 30 minutes, with 15 edited aerial photos and a 15-second vertical clip within seven days. We fly only from private lakeside land with the owner’s written consent and MLIT approval filed through DIPS 2.0, so book at least three weeks ahead.

Starting from: $530
Duration: 30 min
Edited photos: 15
Video: 15 s vertical aerial clip

Why here

Why choose Aerial portrait in the landscape in Mt Fuji & Kawaguchiko?

Around Fuji the question is not where the view is best but where a drone may legally leave the ground. The lakes sit in Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, the shrines and the Chureito Pagoda forbid flights, and the public shore is full of people the law says we must keep 30 m from. What remains is private land — a lakeside campground or hotel grounds whose owner agrees — and that is where this session happens, with the paperwork done before you arrive.

How the shoot is planned

How a session in Mt Fuji & Kawaguchiko is planned

The route

We meet at the agreed site — typically a lakeside campground or a hotel’s own shore on Kawaguchiko, Saiko or Motosu — and the pilot walks the boundary with you before the first battery goes up. The opening frames are top-down: you on a jetty or a strip of shore with the water around you. Then the drone pulls back and climbs, within line of sight and the 150 m ceiling, until the summit appears behind you and you become a small figure at the lake’s edge. The last block is the vertical clip, a slow reveal from your faces to the mountain.

The timing

Under Japanese rules, flying between sunset and sunrise counts as a night flight and needs its own approval, so a dawn session starts at sunrise rather than in the blue hour before it. October to February gives the clearest summit; cold drains batteries faster, so winter flights run in shorter blocks with spares kept warm in the car. Lakes are often calm at first light and windier after about 10:00, and we do not fly in rain or gusts — the call is made on site.

What’s included

What Aerial portrait in the landscape in Mt Fuji & Kawaguchiko includes

In the package

15 edited aerial photos
A 15-second vertical aerial clip
Location, permissions and landowner consent arranged in advance
Delivered within 7 days

Book online

Inspiration

Aerial portrait in the landscape: ideas for your shoot

Frames by photographers on Unsplash, credited below — the mood to plan your own shoot against, not our portfolio.

Photos: Zion C, T K, Roméo A., Sebastian Dugudae on Unsplash

Before you book

FAQ — Aerial portrait in the landscape in Mt Fuji & Kawaguchiko

How much is an aerial portrait at Mt Fuji, and what does it include?

$530 covers 30 minutes on site, a registered drone and pilot, the site check against airport zones and DID maps, the MLIT application through DIPS 2.0 where needed, landowner consent, 15 edited aerial photos and a 15-second vertical clip within seven days. If the landowner charges a site fee, we quote it to you before you book.

Can you fly over Chureito Pagoda or the Oishi Park shore?

No. Arakura Fuji Sengen Shrine and the pagoda forbid drones, and the public shore at Oishi Park is a crowded viewpoint where flying near people needs approval we will not seek. Flights over a crowd, beyond line of sight or at night without approval are not something we sell at any price.

How far ahead do we need to book?

At least three weeks. MLIT asks for applications ten business days before the flight, and we first need the landowner’s written consent and, where the national park office or the town sets conditions for a site, their answer too. If any of those says no, we tell you before you pay anything.

Can the drone be added to our pre-wedding shoot instead?

Yes, as the $235 drone add-on, with the same rule: the aerial frames happen on the private site, not at the public shore or the pagoda. Plan the pre-wedding so its location — or, with extra hours, its second location — is that site.

Same shoot elsewhere