The is the name of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

ese

aerial lift An aerial lift, also known as a cable car or ropeway, is a means of cable transport in which ''cabins'', ''cars'', ''Gondola lift, gondolas'', or Chairlift, open chairs are hauled above the ground by means of one or more Wire rope, cables. Aeria ...

line in Ikeda,

Tokushima is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 682,439 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,146 Square kilometre, km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture b ...

, as well as its operator. The line climbs Mount Hashikura of Hashikura-dera, a famous temple. Refurbished in 1999, this is the first

funitel A funitel is a type of cableway, generally used to transport skiers, although at least one is used to transport finished cars between different areas of a factory. It differs from a standard gondola lift through the use of two arms attached to ...

to be operated in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. As of October 2007, there are three other funitel lines in Japan. However, all other lines are funitel

gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate suppo ...

s, while Hashikurasan Ropeway is the only funitel

aerial tramway An aerial tramway, aerial tram, sky tram, cable car or aerial cablecar, aerial cableway, ropeway, téléphérique (French), or Seilbahn (German) is a type of aerial lift which uses one or two stationary cables for support, with a third movin ...

History

The route to Hashikura-dera was originally linked by a

funicular A funicular ( ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep grade (slope), slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to ...

railway called , opened in 1930. The line closed in 1944. In 1971, Shikoku Cable opened a

chairlift An elevated passenger ropeway, or chairlift, is a type of aerial lift, which consists of a continuously circulating steel wire rope loop strung between two end terminals and usually over intermediate towers. They are the primary on-hill tran ...

running on the former funicular line route, as well as an

that links the chairlift terminus and the temple. Another aerial tramway opened along the chairlift line in 1977. In 1999, two aerial tramways were refurbished into one funitel line, eliminating the need of transfer. In 2020, the ropeway was to be used as part of the torch relay for the

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, but this was delayed to 2021 due to the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Basic data

*System: Funitel *Cable length: *Vertical interval: *Operational speed: 5.0 m/s *Passenger capacity per a cabin: 32 *Cabins: 2 *Stations: 2

Stations

* Base Station: Tozanguchi Station (登山口駅) * Top Station: Hashikuraji Station (箸蔵寺駅)

References

External links

Official website
{{Japan-cable-line-stub Aerial tramways in Japan Tourist attractions in Tokushima Prefecture Transport in Tokushima Prefecture

History

Basic data

Stations

See also

References

External links