Enjoy the view from Mt. Moiwa Ropeway

Take a street car for 20 minutes from the city center and get off at Ropeway Iriguchi stop. Then from here to the ropeway station, you can either walk for ten minutes or take a free shuttle bus, which departs every 15 minutes. If you come in your car, there is a free parking lot across from the station accommodating 120 cars.

The base station is a four-storied building. Once you are there, take an elevator up to the ticket booths, buy a ticket and get on the ropeway, which operates every fifteen minutes. During your ride in one of the brand new gondola cars, you can see the pristine forest and the city of Sapporo down below. Sapporo TV Tower looks so close that you feel you could reach out and touch it.
The gondola car goes up the 1,198 m long ropeway at a speed of 18 km per hour and arrives at the midway station in just 5 minutes.

Free shuttle buses are ecologically operated on the bio diesel fuel using used cooking oil.

In the midway station located at an elevation of 450 meters, there are Moimomi no Omise gift shop, the multi-purpose Forest Gallery, and a lecture room. At this station, passengers board a two-cabin connected mini-size cable car called a Morris car, the driving mechanism of which is the first of its kind in the world, and head for the summit. A smooth 70-second ride up through the forest will take you to the top station.

Gift items on sale here include a variety of Morris goods, the mascot of Mt. Moiwa and a kind of Hokkaido ramen sold only at Mt. Moiwa. But you will be coming back to this station, so maybe it’s better to do your shopping later!

The Morris car will take you to the top station, where there is an observation deck, a restaurant, Star Hall planetarium and a lounge for visitors. All the facilities from the Sanroku base station to the observation deck at the top station are designed barrier free so that even wheel chair users can enjoy a panoramic view from the roof top observation deck.

At Star Hall, the newest images of the four seasons and various events are shown on the 3-D screen. Also, you can enjoy the planetarium programs designed by famous planetarium creator Takayuki Ohira.

The 90-seat Anniversary Restaurant “The Jewels” has glass walls all around, offering a panoramic view from any seat. You can enjoy your dinner looking down at a breathtaking night view of the city. They also have premium seats for couples. A restaurant staffer says, “This is the place to dine on your special day with your special ones”. A lunch course starts from 1,500 yen and a dinner course from 2,500 yen. They also have a-la-cart dishes.

The restaurant on top offers a panoramic view

Left: You can enjoy this view from the restaurant.
Right: An example of a lunch course, a treat to look forward to at the top of Mt. Moiwa.

You can also buy a discounted set ticket called Sapporo Romantic Passport commemorating the renewal of Mt Moiwa Ropeway. This includes a one-day ticket for Sapporo street cars as well as roundtrip tickets for Mt. Moiwa Ropeway and Morris car, among other things such as coupons for some restaurants. The set tickets are available for a price of 1,980 yen between January 4 and March 20, 2012. They are sold at Sapporo Station Information Center, the Commuter Pass counter at Subway Odori Station, and at 29 different hotels in Sapporo.

Mt. Moiwa toll road, now part of Mt. Moiwa ski area, will open in the spring of 2012. The road ends at the midway station, not at the top station as it used to, in order to protect the nature atop the mountain.

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Sapporo Romantic Passport(Japanese)

Mt. Moiwa Ropeway(Japanese)