I Want to Ride It Someday, Too: Unpenji Ropeway

A gondola on the Unpenji Ropeway in Kagawa Prefecture, Shikoku Island

Photo: Nicolai Okkels

I've received some more beautiful photographs from a Danish railfan. When he visited Japan last year to take part in the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage, he took these photos of the Unpenji Ropeway in Kagawa Prefecture. My thanks go to Nicolai Okkels for kindly sharing these photographs with me.

Please take a look at them. You can see a gondola traveling through the air against a backdrop of green mountains, countless houses, and the blue sea. This is the Unpenji Ropeway in Kagawa Prefecture, on Shikoku Island.

Shikoku is the fourth-largest island in Japan, located about 800 kilometers west of Tokyo. The Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage is a unique spiritual journey that takes pilgrims to 88 Buddhist temples scattered across the island. Walking the entire route from one temple to the next adds up to more than 1,400 kilometers. It may sound daunting, but don't worry — pilgrims can also use public transportation along the way if they wish.

Unpenji Temple is a good example. Perched near a steep mountain summit at an elevation of 927 meters, it can be reached conveniently by the Unpenji Ropeway. This aerial tramway, operated by Shikoku Cable Company, opened in 1987. It is a four-cable, cross-type system connecting Sanroku and Sancho stations. The route is 2,954 meters long, with a vertical difference of 657 meters and a maximum gradient of 28.83 degrees. Its Swiss-made gondolas operate every 20 minutes, taking about seven minutes for a one-way trip at a maximum speed of 10 meters per second. Each gondola can carry up to 101 passengers.

Looking at the beautiful photographs, I noticed that the ropeway has an unusually long span between its support towers. In fact, the distance between Support Towers No. 2 and No. 3 is 1,882 meters, the longest of its kind in Japan. Support towers, you really are something!

I hope you have enjoyed this post and the beautiful photographs. Finally, you may be wondering...

"Even visitors from overseas enjoy the Shikoku 88 Temple Pilgrimage. So, have you ever taken part in it yourself, as someone who lives in Japan?"

Good question! Well, unfortunately, not yet. I'm always busy, and my family is usually short on time, too. It can also be expensive.

And I must admit — I'm a bit of a wimp, so I don't think I could manage the 1,400-kilometer pilgrimage mainly on foot. But at least I'd love to ride the Unpenji Ropeway someday!

A beautiful view from the gondola

Photo: Nicolai Okkels

Related link:

・Official website of Shikoku Cable Company

“Tetsubun-usume?” Activities in Yokohama City

The preserved platform of the former Yokohama Minato Station

I imagine there are slang terms used by railfans in your country, too.

In Japan, we have some as well. For example, we use the term “yami-tetsu” to describe photographing trains and railway-related facilities in the dark, as well as the people who enjoy doing so. Today, I’d like to introduce another term: “tetsubun.”

・What Is “Tetsubun”?

In Japanese, the word for “railway” is tetsudō, which literally means “iron road.” Meanwhile, tetsubun means “iron content.”

I bet you’ve figured it out by now!

Among Japanese railfans, tetsubun refers to how much of a railway enthusiast someone is. When someone is particularly keen on railways, we jokingly say they have “tetsubun-koime” (a high iron content). On the other hand, when someone’s railway-related activities are relatively low-key, we call it “tetsubun-usume” (a low iron content).

・My Visit to Yokohama During a Holiday

Let’s move on to my recent outing. I visited Yokohama to meet an old friend. However, just before we were due to meet, I received a message from him saying that he would be two hours late because something urgent had come up.

What could I do to kill two hours?

・My “Tetsubun-usume” Activity, Part 1

I decided to keep my railway-related activities low-key and visited the preserved platform of the former Yokohama Minato Station (Yokohama Port Station).

Please take a look at the photo above. You can see a small platform and some preserved rails. This is the platform of the former Yokohama Minato Station, built in 1928. When international passenger ships were due to depart from Yokohama Port, special connecting trains ran from Tokyo to Yokohama Minato Station, bringing passengers to the port.

I sat down on a bench on the platform. It was just an ordinary bench, but sitting there, I could imagine how travelers must have felt just before leaving Japan. Was it just my imagination?

・My “Tetsubun-usume” Activity, Part 2

Next, please take a look at the photo below. You can see the gondolas of the Yokohama Air Cabin, which I photographed from a path along the canal.

The Yokohama Air Cabin is an urban gondola lift that opened in 2021. It connects Sakuragicho Station with Unga Park Station, covering 630 meters each way.

I found it rather strange to see gondolas moving against a backdrop of skyscrapers rather than natural mountains. I’ll take a ride and write a report on the experience in the near future.

・Final Thoughts

I had planned to keep my railway-related activities low-key. However, once I got started, I found myself getting carried away. In the end, my supposedly “tetsubun-usume” outing turned into a thoroughly enjoyable “tetsubun-koime” experience!

Gondolas on the Yokohama Air Cabin, with skyscrapers in the background

Related links:

・Official information from Yokohama Air Cabin 

Photographing Subway Trains: The Shinjuku Line

A Toei 10-300 series EMU emerging from a tunnel

This is the eighth installment in my “Photographing Subway Trains” series. You're getting quite familiar with it by now, aren't you? Today, I'm featuring the Shinjuku Line. The theme is “A Subway Line That Crosses Rivers.” But before getting down to the main topic, let me give you the usual introduction.

・What’s the Shinjuku Line?

The Shinjuku Line is Tokyo’s ninth-oldest subway line. It opened in 1978 and is operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Transportation (Toei). The line is 23.5 km long, connecting Shinjuku and Motoyawata. The 2.5 km section between Higashi-ōjima and Funabori runs above ground. Shinjuku Line trains also run directly onto the Keio Line via Shinjuku Station.

The Shinjuku Line’s route number is 10, and its official line color is leaf green (yellowish green). The line uses a 1,500 V DC overhead power supply. One unusual feature of the Toei Shinjuku Line is its track gauge of 1,372 mm, whereas most railway lines in Japan use either 1,067 mm or 1,435 mm gauge. This unusual gauge is inherited from the existing Keio Line, which the Shinjuku Line connects with.

Toei currently operates 10-300 series EMUs on the line. Meanwhile, Keio’s 5000 and 9000 series EMUs also run directly onto the Shinjuku Line.

・A Train Emerging from a Tunnel

All right, please take a look at the photo above. It shows a Toei 10-300 series EMU emerging from a tunnel near Funabori Station.

Why does a subway train emerge from a tunnel and run above ground here?

The reason is that the line has to cross three rivers in succession in this area: the Kyu-Nakagawa, Arakawa and Nakagawa. As I mentioned in my previous post, building an underground section between Higashi-ōjima and Funabori was expected to be very expensive because of the poor ground conditions. Building an elevated section instead was a more economical option.

Thanks to these challenging construction conditions, railfans can now capture dramatic shots of subway trains emerging from tunnels.

The 10-300 series — so cool!

・A Train Crossing a River

Next, please take a look at the photo below. It shows a 10-300 series train leaving Higashi-ōjima Station and heading towards the Arakawa-Nakagawa Railway Bridge. I used a super-telephoto lens to capture the scene and highlight the bridge’s location in the distance. You can just make out the bridge as a small bump on the horizon.

The 10-300 series — over the river we go!

I thoroughly enjoyed photographing these unique features of the Shinjuku Line!

A Toei 10-300 series EMU heading towards the Arakawa-Nakagawa Railway Bridge

Related link:

・Official information from Toei (in Japanese; machine translation available)

The Nambu Line in Autumn

JR Freight’s petroleum train running on JR East’s Nambu Line

Autumn is in full swing in Tokyo. Autumn flowers are blooming here and there, and the trees are beginning to turn color. It’s the perfect season for a stroll. One day, I took JR East’s Nambu Line north with my family.

Since this was a family outing, and since I had already taken plenty of photos of commuter trains on the Nambu Line, I had been trying to resist the urge to do any trainspotting. However, when I spotted a freight train hauled by a blue locomotive at Bubaigawara Station, I couldn’t resist taking photos of it.

Please take a look at the photo above. It shows a JR Freight petroleum train heading south. That’s cool!

The blue locomotive at the head of the train is JR Freight’s Class EH200 electric locomotive. It entered service in 2001 and runs on a 1,500 V DC system. The locomotive consists of two permanently coupled units, giving it a UIC wheel arrangement of (Bo-Bo)+(Bo-Bo). It is equipped with eight 565 kW induction motors and uses an IGBT-VFD (insulated-gate bipolar transistor–variable-frequency drive) control system.

The green tank cars, on the other hand, are Class TaKi 1000 cars operated by Japan Oil Transportation Company. This class of tank car entered service in 1993. One of its most notable features is its maximum operating speed of 95 km/h. That may not sound particularly fast, but bear in mind that many conventional railway lines in Japan pass through mountainous terrain and use a narrow track gauge of just 1,067 mm.

After taking the photos, I came back to my senses and boarded a Nambu Line train. Our destination was Showa Kinen Park, near Tachikawa Station. Covering 165.3 hectares (408 acres), it is one of the largest parks in Tokyo.

We enjoyed strolling around the park, admiring the autumn flowers … and, of course, eating soft-serve ice cream!

Please take a look at the photo below. You can see colorful dahlias and kochia plants turning red. They look so vibrant!

And one more thing: there’s also a blue park train in the photo. After all, this is a railway blog!

I thoroughly enjoyed both the Nambu Line and the beautiful park along the line that day.

Showa Kinen Park near Tachikawa Station

Limited Express “Kinugawa” and “Nikko”: 2026 Update

JR East Series 253 EMU operating as the limited express “Kinugawa”

Are there any blue trains in your country?

I know that South Africa has its famous Blue Train. I’ve also heard of PeruRail’s luxury blue train that takes passengers to the famous sightseeing destination of Machu Picchu.

Japan has blue trains, too! There used to be “Blue Trains” in Japan, a term referring to blue-colored sleeper trains. You may remember my previous posts featuring some of them, including Hokutosei and Akebono.

Although Japan’s Blue Trains have all been retired, blue-colored trains can still be found here. Famous examples include Kintetsu’s limited express “Blue Symphony” and Sotetsu’s commuter trains in their distinctive navy-blue livery.

I’m particularly fond of blue trains, especially those in ultramarine. They have a calming effect on me. I think blue trains look especially beautiful in the evening. Don’t you agree?

Let’s take a look at one. Please check out the top photo. I photographed this train just after sunset. Doesn’t it have a calming effect on you, too?

You may remember this train from my previous post. Yes, it’s JR East’s Series 253 EMU, operating as the limited express “Kinugawa” and "Nikko!"

The Series 253 is an older EMU originally designed for limited express services. It entered service in 1991 as the first-generation train for the Narita Express (N’EX), which served the New Tokyo International Airport (now Narita Airport). The train featured in the top photo originally entered service in 2002 as part of the fifth batch of N’EX trains.

It was later refurbished and repainted red before entering service as a limited express train on the “Kinugawa” and “Nikko” services in 2011. Since then, it has connected central Tokyo with popular destinations in the northern part of the Tokyo metropolitan area, including Kinugawa and Nikko.

Now, 15 years later, the Series 253 has been given a new blue livery. What a surprise! On June 13, it made its debut in its new colors on Tokyo-area tracks.

Welcome back, the Series 253! I thought you might be heading for retirement soon. You look great in blue. Keep up the good work!

Set OM-N02, a Series 253 EMU, after arriving at Shinjuku Station

Related link:

・Official information from JR East