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Mt. Takao in Winter (December–February): Last Cable Car 17:15, Sunset 16:31, Official Temperatures, Diamond Fuji Week and the New Year Dates

Updated 2026-10-29

Nothing on Mt. Takao closes for the winter, and only two things change their price: the Mt. Takao Ticket is not sold from 31 December to 3 January, and the onsen by the station charges its ¥1,300 peak rate from 29 December to 3 January. What does change is the light. The cable car's last run down is 17:15 on weekdays and 17:30 at weekends from December through February, and the sun is down at 16:31 on 21 December in the Tokyo table of the National Astronomical Observatory. The chair lift stops at 16:00. The cold is measured, not guessed: the Meteorological Agency's normals put Hachioji, the station at the foot of the mountain, at a January average of 3.4 °C with nights at −1.8 °C, two degrees under Tokyo. Hours, dates and prices on this page come from the operators, the temple and the agencies, checked 2026-10-29.

Mt. Takao winter clock on a 6:00 to 23:00 axis for a December day: daylight 6:46 to 16:31 on 21 December; cable car 8:00 to 17:15 on weekdays and 17:30 at weekends, with 17:15 circled; chair lift 9:00 to 16:00 on weekdays; TAKAO 599 MUSEUM 8:00 to 16:00, free; Visitor Center at the summit 10:00 to 16:00, closed Mondays; Takaosan Onsen 8:00 to 22:30. A note says to leave the summit at sunset or carry a torch for the 80-minute walk down Trail 1.
Six things with opening hours, one sunset. Everything except the onsen shuts within an hour of the sun going down.

Winter hours: what stops when

December January–February Notes
Cable car, first car up 8:00 8:00 about every 15 minutes, every 7 when busy
Cable car, last car down 17:15 weekdays / 17:30 weekends and holidays 17:15 / 17:30 the earliest last car of the year; March moves to 17:30 / 18:00
Chair lift, last ride down 16:00 on weekdays 16:00 on weekdays from 9:00; weekend hours are set by the day
TAKAO 599 MUSEUM (foot of the mountain) 8:00–16:00, last entry 15:30 same free; 4 minutes from Takaosanguchi Station; closed 3 December 2026 and 4 March 2027
Takao Visitor Center (summit) 10:00–16:00 same free; closed Mondays and over the New Year holidays
Keio Takaosan Onsen Gokurakuyu 8:00–22:30, last entry 21:45 same open every day; ¥1,300 instead of ¥1,100 from 29 December to 3 January

Sunset from the observatory's Tokyo table: 16:28 on 1 December, 16:31 on the 21st, 16:37 on the 31st, 16:38 on 1 January, 17:07 on the 31st, 17:08 on 1 February and 17:35 on the 28th. Sunrise goes the other way, 6:32 on 1 December to 6:50 on 1 January, then back to 6:42 by the end of January.

Put the two together and December has a 75-minute gap between sunset and the last cable car. That gap is the summit walk. Takao Tozan's own advice, quoted in the day trip itinerary, is to be off the mountain before sunset because the forest goes completely dark. Trail 1 from the summit to the foot is 80 minutes on the official course map, and the cable car's upper station is partway down it, so a summit sunset at 16:31 means walking the upper part of Trail 1 in the dusk to make the 17:15 car. A small torch turns that from a worry into a plan. The chair lift is not an option after 16:00.

How cold it is: Hachioji against Tokyo, from the agency's own table

The Meteorological Agency has no gauge on the summit. Its nearest station is Hachioji, in the city at the foot of the mountain, and its 1991–2020 normals are below with Tokyo for comparison.

Month Hachioji: mean / daily high / daily low Tokyo: mean / daily high / daily low Precipitation, Hachioji / Tokyo
December 5.9 / 11.7 / 0.8 °C 7.7 / 12.0 / 3.8 °C 53.1 / 57.9 mm
January 3.4 / 9.3 / −1.8 °C 5.4 / 9.8 / 1.2 °C 54.1 / 59.7 mm
February 4.5 / 10.3 / −0.9 °C 6.1 / 10.9 / 2.1 °C 46.1 / 56.5 mm
Range chart of JMA 1991 to 2020 normals, mean daily low to mean daily high with the monthly mean marked. December: Tokyo 3.8 to 12.0, mean 7.7; Hachioji 0.8 to 11.7, mean 5.9. January: Tokyo 1.2 to 9.8, mean 5.4; Hachioji minus 1.8 to 9.3, mean 3.4, the low circled. February: Tokyo 2.1 to 10.9, mean 6.1; Hachioji minus 0.9 to 10.3, mean 4.5. Precipitation 46 to 60 millimetres a month at both stations.
Afternoons down in Hachioji are within a degree of Tokyo. Nights are three degrees colder, and below freezing in January and February.

Three things follow from the table. First, the afternoons are mild: Hachioji's daily high in January is 9.3 °C, almost Tokyo's 9.8 °C, so the walk up in the midday sun is a jumper-and-windbreaker walk, not an expedition. Second, the nights are the difference. Hachioji's daily low is below zero in January and February, and the summit is 599 m above sea level, well above the city station, so expect the top to run a few degrees under the table again (our estimate from the height difference; the agency publishes no summit figure). Ground that froze overnight stays frozen in the shade until late morning. That is the cold the Visitor Center's winter list counts on for its "ice flowers", the ice ribbons that grow on the stems of the shimobashira plant, and it is where shoes with grip earn their place. Third, it is the dry season: 46–54 mm a month at Hachioji is under half of what the Hakone gauge collects in the same months, so a wet day is the exception and a snowy one rarer still. The Hachioji table records precipitation, not snow depth, so there is no official snow average to give you.

Which trail in winter

The full table of every trail's length, time and toilets is in the day trip itinerary. Riding instead of walking? The cable car vs chair lift guide explains why the lift is the better ride on a cold clear morning and the worse one after 16:00.

Diamond Fuji week: the sun sets on Fuji's summit

The Ministry of Land's Kanto Fuji-view register lists the Takao–Jinba park for exactly this: around the winter solstice, seen from Mt. Takao's summit, the sun sets onto the peak of Mt. Fuji. The Visitor Center lists it among its seasonal sights, and its winter page adds that the air is at its clearest in these months, which is why the view west is better in January than in May.

The arithmetic of seeing it is the arithmetic of the clock above. Sunset is 16:31 on the solstice, 22 December 2026, and the viewing is the quarter hour before. The last cable car down is 17:15 on a weekday and 17:30 at the weekend, from a station partway down Trail 1. Check Takao Tozan's news page in December for the viewing days and for any extra evening cars before you fix the day; the summit observation deck, facing west, is the spot. On the solstice itself Yakuoin holds its Hoshi Matsuri (star festival) on 22 December in the main hall, so the temple is busy on the way down.

What a winter day costs

Winter does not change the fares. The two exceptions are the New Year days.

Price Winter note
Keio, Shinjuku to Takaosanguchi ¥430 each way (child ¥220) same all year
Cable car or chair lift ¥490 one way, ¥980 return (child ¥250 / ¥500) same fare on both; lift stops at 16:00
Mt. Takao Ticket from Shinjuku (train both ways + ride both ways) ¥1,450 (child ¥740); ¥1,090 with a one-way ride not sold 31 December–3 January
Keio Takaosan Onsen Gokurakuyu ¥1,100 weekdays, ¥1,300 weekends and holidays (child ¥550 / ¥650) ¥1,300 every day from 29 December to 3 January
TAKAO 599 MUSEUM, Visitor Center free museum closed 3 December and 4 March

So a weekday in January with the cable car both ways and a bath is ¥1,450 + ¥1,100 = ¥2,550 per adult with the Mt. Takao Ticket, the same as in October. On 2 January the same day is ¥430 × 2 + ¥980 + ¥1,300 = ¥3,140, because the ticket is off sale and the onsen is on its peak rate. The Mt. Takao cost calculator prices the other combinations, and the onsen guide has the bath's rules, including the tattoo ban. The train itself is the same on a winter morning as any other; the Tokyo to Mt. Takao train guide covers the Keio fare bands and the Mt. TAKAO reserved-seat train.

Dates inside the season

From Yakuoin's 2026 calendar and the Hachioji tourism association:

Want the winter lights as well? One JR stop past Takao, the Sagamiko Illumillion runs through the season; the Sagamiko Illumillion calculator prices it by date and shows the bus. And if you are weighing Takao against Hakone for a cold-season day, the Hakone in winter guide is the same kind of page for the other mountain: there, the ropeway's 16:15 is the clock.

Rather have a guide on a winter morning?

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Frequently asked questions

Is Mt. Takao open in winter?

Yes. The cable car and chair lift run every day, Yakuoin is open, the Visitor Center at the summit keeps its 10:00–16:00 hours (closed Mondays and over the New Year holidays), and the TAKAO 599 MUSEUM moves to 8:00–16:00 from December to March. Only the Beer Mount, the summer-season terrace, is closed. What shortens is the day: last cable car 17:15 on weekdays, 17:30 at weekends.

Does it snow on Mt. Takao?

The Meteorological Agency's Hachioji station averages 53–54 mm of precipitation in December and January, well under half of Hakone's, with a January mean of 3.4 °C, so most winter days are dry and clear. The station records precipitation, not snow depth, so there is no official snowfall average for the mountain. When snow does fall it lies longest on the shaded upper sections, where the daily lows are below zero.

Can I see Mt. Fuji from Mt. Takao in winter?

Winter is the season for it. The summit is on the Ministry of Land's Kanto Fuji-view register, and the Visitor Center's winter page says the air is clearest in these months. Around the solstice the setting sun lands on Fuji's peak (Diamond Fuji); see the section above for the timing against the last cable car.

Is the onsen more expensive in winter?

Only on six days. Keio Takaosan Onsen Gokurakuyu charges ¥1,100 on weekdays and ¥1,300 on weekends and holidays all year, and its peak rate of ¥1,300 applies every day from 29 December to 3 January. Hours stay 8:00–22:30 with last entry at 21:45.

Why is the Mt. Takao Ticket not sold at New Year?

Keio's discount page lists 31 December to 3 January as the days it is not on sale. On those days pay the regular ¥430 fare each way and ¥980 for the ride both ways, ¥390 more per adult than the ticket.

Official sources (checked 2026-10-29)

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