Mt. Hakodate Ropeway, Hakodate
About the Mount Hakodate Ropeway Camera
This camera covers Mount Hakodate and its ropeway in Hakodate, Hokkaido. The mountain is 334 metres high and sits at the end of the peninsula that closes off the south side of the city.
The night view from the summit is the reason most people make the trip, and the shape of it is an accident of geography. Hakodate is built on a tombolo — a narrow sand isthmus connecting the mountain to the mainland — with water on both sides. The lit city therefore narrows to a waist and flares out again, a form you do not get in cities built on open ground.
The ropeway climbs from the Motomachi side in about three minutes. Whether the view is there at all depends on cloud: the summit sits in fog often enough that it is worth checking before setting out, which is one practical use for this camera.
Highlights & Nearby
- •Watch for: the city and harbour below, the tombolo shape after dark, cloud sitting on the summit
- •Nearby: Motomachi, Hakodate Bay, the red brick warehouses, Goryokaku
- •Note: the summit is often in cloud — worth checking before making the trip up
