There is, it seems, an unwritten law on Fujimizaka slope that every conversation must start with the following question: "Can you see it?"
In recent months, however, that question has taken on a laconic tone when voiced by local residents, who fear that if a construction company has its way, the answer will no longer be determined by either the weather or Tokyo's air pollution.
The subject of the question is Mount Fuji, and Fujimizaka ("Fuji view slope"), located in Nishi-Nippori, Arakawa Ward, is the last of 16 similarly named slopes in central Tokyo still commanding a view of both right and left ridge lines of the fabled peak.