After returning from my trip to Miyazaki Prefecture, I visited Niigata Prefecture. It was family time, so I had temporarily put my trainspotting activities on hold—but I was soon drawn to a retro climbing car on Mt. Yahiko.
Let me start with a quick overview of Mt. Yahiko. It’s a sheer mountain with a great view in Niigata Prefecture, about 300 kilometers north of Tokyo. The summit rises 634 meters above sea level. The easiest way to reach the summit is by gondola, called the Yahiko-yama Ropeway. I first rode it eleven years ago—please check my previous post.
So, what’s new in this post? To be honest, the “Sancho (summit) Station” of the gondola is not at the actual summit of Mt. Yahiko. You can reach a higher spot using a climbing car. Please look at the top photo: you can see the retro vehicle, the Yahiko-yama Climbing Car, on the mountainside. The climbing car was built in 1970 by the Yahiko-yama Ropeway Company. It’s neither a funicular nor a monorail—it’s an inclined elevator. Connecting the parking lot and the mountain park, its route is 62.4 meters long with a 50-degree incline. The vehicle accommodates 30 passengers and operates at a speed of 0.75 meters per second, taking about one minute to reach the mountain park.
Next, please look at the photo below. Aren’t you curious about the camera angle? It looks like the photo was taken from above the climbing car. Could there be a higher vantage point? To be continued…
