Ikaho Ropeway

The Ikaho Ropeway (伊香保ロープウェイ, Ikaho Rōpuwei) is Japanese aerial lift line in Shibukawa, Gunma. The ropeway connects the onsen group of the Shibukawa Ikahomachi district to the summit of Mount Monokiki and park facilities of Mount Kaminoyama.[1]

Ikaho Ropeway 伊香保ロープウェイ
Hototogisu Station (base station)
Overview
Status	Operational
Character	Elevated
Location	Shibukawa, Gunma Prefecture, Japan
Termini	Ikahomachi, Shibukawa Summit of Mount Monokiki, Shibukawa
No. of stations	2
Operation
Owner	City of Shibukawa, Gunma Prefecture, Japan
Operator	City of Shibukawa
Technical features
Aerial lift type	Aerial tramway
Line length	0.499 km (0.310 mi)
Notes	182 m (597 ft) Electric motor

Miharashi Station (summit)

Michi no Eki Furusato Kōtsūkan visitor center adjacent to Hototogisu Station

Description

The Ikaho Ropeway is owned and operated by City of Shibukawa. The ropeway operates between 8:40 am and 5:15 pm, and runs every day of the year, with the exception of days for maintenance and inspection.[2][3]

Basic data

• System: Aerial tramway, 3 cables
• Cable length: 499 m (1,637 ft)
• Vertical interval: 182 m (597 ft)
• Passenger capacity per cabin: officially listed as 21 passengers,[2] frequently listed as 20 passengers[3]
• Stations: 2
• Frequency: Every ten minutes (8:40 am - 10 am), every 15 minutes (10 am - 5:15 pm)
• Final ascent: 5 pm, final descent: 5:15 pm
• Time required for single ride: 4 minutes[2]
• Address (base station): 588-2 Ikahochō, Shibukawa City, Gunma Prefecture 〒377-0102
• Telephone: [phone] (base station), 0279-72-4656 (summit station)

Stations

Base station

• Hototogisu Station (不如帰駅, Hototogisu-eki). Base station. The first floor of the station serves a tourism information center, and the ropeway begins on the fourth floor.[3] A visitor center, Michi no Eki Furusato Kōtsūkan, is adjacent to Hototogisu Station and sells vegetables and locally made soba buckwheat noodles, a noted product of the Shibukawa area.[1] The station is named after the lesser cuckoo, which appears frequently in classical Japanese poems, prose, and visual works, notably the Pillow Book (1102 AD) of Sei Shonagon.

Summit station

• Miharashi Station (見晴駅, Miharashi-eki). Summit station. Miharashi Station is at the summit of Mount Monokiki, (900 meters (3,000 ft)), 182 m (597 ft) above sea level. The station allows access to skating center, Mount Kaminoyama, Mount Kaminoyama Park. The Mihara Observation Deck (見晴展望台, Mihara Tenbō-dai) at Kaminoyama Park provides broad views of nearby mountains and the Kantō Plain.[2]

See also

• List of aerial lifts in Japan

External links

• Shibukawa Tourism Guide Map
• 渋川市・伊香保ロープウェイ(in Japanese)
• 渋川市観光協会・伊香保温泉(in Japanese)

References

1. Shibukawa Tourism Guide Map
2. 渋川市・伊香保ロープウェイ Archived 2012-05-13 at the Wayback Machine(in Japanese)
3. 伊香保温泉(in Japanese)