Driving Tokyo-Nikko in late Dec 2022?

Hi!
My family will be visiting Tokyo in late December. We're planning a 3D2N trip to Nikko during our visit. We're thinking of renting a car and driving from Tokyo to Nikko and back, and around Nikko as well.

As we live in a tropical country, we're not familiar with seasonal driving.

Is driving between Toyko-Nikko manageable in late December?

Tokyo and Nikko is well connected by multiple railway companies and there is also a bus network in Nikko that serves all of the major sites within Nikko.

There are multiple passes that are available to tourists (such as the 'Nikko All Area Pass' and the 'Marugoto Nikko Free Pass') and using these passes on public transport is sufficient for getting around and outweighs hiring a car. So I would also recommend looking into this and considering it over hiring a car.

Article with further information on the passes: https://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2358_002.html

Nikko is known as the "freezer of Kanto" - which means that it often is colder here than in other regions in the general location.

If you really want to hire a car - have you thought about taking a train/bus there and potentially hiring a car once you are there and can determine the weather conditions a bit better.

I've also stayed in Nikko in April and it snowed one night that late in Spring. It was an amazing experience (being in an outdoor onsen while it is snowing), but I am happy that I was not driving at the time.

I would also recommend using public transport. The weather forecast I�fm watching now mentions possible snow in Utsunomiya area for tonight/tomorrow already. Since you say you are from tropical region and not familiar with winter road conditions, I would advise against driving. There are good train service between Tokyo - Nikko, and buses in and around Nikko as well.