The domed radar installation that monitored typhoons for more than 30 years from the summit of Mount Fuji will begin a new life as an educational facility this spring.

The new facility in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, which the press was allowed to view Wednesday, will open to the public April 24.

Built in 1964 as the world's highest-elevation weather radar site, the facility played a key role in observing typhoons. With the introduction of weather satellites, it was decommissioned in 1999, then dismantled and moved to Fujiyoshida two years later.

The facility, run by the city of Fujiyoshida at the foot of the mountain, displays real weather-monitoring equipment, allowing visitors to experience the work on Mount Fuji's weather station.

It also houses a rich collection of material on writer Jiro Nitta (1912-1980) who, as an employee of the Meteorological Agency, was involved in setting up the radar dome.

The agency still has an observation station on Mount Fuji. But it plans to abolish it and is considering letting the facility be used for the public, agency officials said.