Cost: Transportation from your location to Jokoji
Good for: Everyone
Jokoji is a great hiking area with many scenic views. The actual hiking is not particularly tiring, so it's good even for people who have kids or aren't very athletic. I went to Jokoji near the beginning of Winter, so the leaves were changing colors, and it was very beautiful. All told, the hiking along with the temple took about four hours. I went with a group of people, so it probably took longer than it would have if I was by myself.
At the Jokoji station (which took 20 minutes to reach by train from Ozone), there's a really good view that exemplifies the beauty of the area. To actually start hiking, you have to cross a bridge. The stream below had very clean looking water, and the rocks were practically shining in the sunlight. The view made me have a very optimistic outlook on the beauty of the rest of the hiking trip, and I was not disappointed in the least. If anything, the rest of Jokoji had sights that were more spectacular than the one at the beginning.The hike up the mountain had mostly light inclines, and several locations had stone steps in place to make it easier (though I hate steps, personally). After a bit of hiking, there's actually a very gorgeous lake and park. The lake itself isn't very big, but the view across it to the park and the tree covered mountain behind it was really fantastic. The park also made for a great picnic spot: there were several groups of people picnicking, and my group did the same thing. The air was very clear, and it felt very refreshing to relax after walking for a while.
After enjoying the picnic, my group went to Jokoji temple. The trip to the temple was the hardest because there were actual stairs instead of just an incline. The multitude of steps made the tip up rather painful and exhausting whereas the hike up the mountain had been a kind of leisurely strolling experience. That being said, the temple itself was gorgeous. There were numerous places to get amazing views, there were traditional Japanese statues and altars, and the trees were alive with brilliant splashes of color. The temple was rather large, and there was even a large, open area with chairs near a small stand that sold some warm food. I had a rice cake stick covered in sesame seeds. Despite the journey up being rather painful, there were actually a lot of elderly Japanese people in the temple. Judging from the small parking lot that I ended up seeing while I explored the temple, it's actually possible to drive all the way up the mountain (though most seemed to have parked their car lower down).
