Originally Posted by
abmj-jr
You know, I have still never been up there. Guess I should add it to my to-do list.
It's rare for me to visit Tokyo without going back there and, along with Meiji Jingu, it's an important part of our household's New Year activities.
We got caught out once, badly. Went out to to walk to the summit one New Year's Day (gentle stroll from the cable car terminus), weather was beautiful. Alarm bells rung when we saw the locals had seemingly overdressed for the occasion and we put it down to an eagerness to try out their brand new gifts of mountain gear. In short, the way up was an easy hike in perfect conditions, the way down was a perilous descent through several cms of snow on treacherously icy slopes and stairs in a near blizzard.
Of course, none of this will be an issue in June/July.
Tip: Don't visit the monkey park (despite repeated visits over years I'd never gone inside, then my father-in-law took us in one time as we had his young grandchild with us). Even more sad and depressing than I imagined it would be - nothing like Jigokudani near Nagano (BTW, the day I spent in Jigokudani as a near newlywed was the most useful and meaningful experience I've ever had in relation to learning about child rearing and being a mother, best way to determine the difference between instinctive behaviour and the cultural and socially conditioned expectations we've been lumbered with. YMMV)