Gozaisho Ropeway
An hour from Nagoya, the Gozaisho Ropeway floats you up a 1,212-metre mountain in Mie where the summer air runs ten degrees cooler — with a 1,300-year-old hot-spring village at its foot. The easiest cool day trip from the city.
Plan your visitAbout an hour west of Nagoya, the Gozaisho Ropeway climbs from the hot-spring village of Yunoyama Onsen to the upper slopes of Mt Gozaisho — at 1,212 metres, the main peak of the Suzuka range on the Mie–Shiga border. Even in the depths of summer, when the plain below stays hot, the top station at 1,180 metres can be around ten degrees cooler than the city, which has long made this the easiest mountain near Nagoya to ride up in search of cooler air.
A cable car into cooler air
The cabins climb a line about two kilometres long, rising over great weathered granite boulders. Roughly halfway up stands the line's landmark: a slender white steel tower, 61 metres tall and said to be the tallest ropeway support tower in Japan. The ride takes about fifteen minutes, and by the time you step out at the top the air has turned distinctly cool.
Cool air and wide views
At Sanjo Park, 1,180 metres up, easy paths link a series of lookouts. They face east over Nagoya, Centrair and Ise Bay, and west toward Lake Biwa; on the very clearest days, Mt Fuji appears far to the east. A short sightseeing chairlift continues to the true summit at 1,212 metres. The air stays cool even in summer, the autumn colour arrives early for the region, and in winter the trees are sheathed in rime ice.
A hot spring 1,300 years old
The village of Yunoyama Onsen, at the foot of the mountain, is far older than the ropeway. By tradition the springs were found in the year 718, after a wounded deer was discovered healing in the water — which is why they were once called the deer's bath. The soft, alkaline radium water is known locally as a beauty bath, gentle on the skin. Many of the inns open their baths to day visitors, so a soak pairs naturally with the ropeway for a half-day outing.
Good to know
Because the ropeway covers almost all the climb, no hiking gear is needed. The summit is cooler than the plain and the weather changes quickly, so a light layer is wise even in summer, and the lookout paths, while gentle, are uneven in places — comfortable shoes help. Mt Gozaisho also has walking trails to the top on foot, but those are a serious several-hour climb, quite separate from the cable-car trip. The ropeway can pause in strong wind or for maintenance, so check the official running status before making the trip out. For another cool escape in Mie, the river gorge of the Akame 48 Waterfalls is not far away.
In pictures
Highlights
A cable car into cooler air
Fifteen minutes on the ropeway lifts you from Yunoyama Onsen to a summit park 1,180 metres up, where a hot summer day can be a good ten degrees cooler than the streets of Nagoya.
Japan's tallest ropeway tower
About halfway up, the line passes its landmark white steel tower — at 61 metres, said to be the tallest ropeway support tower in the country, standing among great weathered granite crags.
Views from Ise Bay to Lake Biwa
From the lookouts you gaze east over Nagoya, Centrair and Ise Bay, west toward Lake Biwa, and on the very clearest days you can pick out Mt Fuji far to the east.
A hot spring 1,300 years old
At the foot of the mountain, Yunoyama Onsen has welcomed bathers since the year 718; its soft, alkaline radium water is known locally as a beauty bath, gentle on the skin.
Every season has its scene
Spring azaleas, the cool of summer, some of the region's earliest autumn colour, and trees sheathed in winter rime — the mountain looks different every visit.
A suggested route
- 1
Yunoyama Onsen village
The hot-spring town at the foot of the mountain, and the starting point for the trip; soak before the ride or after, as you prefer.
- 2
Ropeway base station
Board the Gozaisho Ropeway for the climb; the cabins run roughly every fifteen minutes up a two-kilometre line.
- 3
The white tower
About halfway, you glide past the 61-metre white steel tower and over great granite boulders and, in spring, wild azaleas.
- 4
Sanjo Park (top station)
Step out at 1,180 metres into the cool, and walk the easy paths between several lookouts as the temperature drops.
- 5
The summit by chairlift
A short sightseeing lift carries you on to the true summit at 1,212 metres for the widest views, then back down the way you came.
Best time to visit
Early summer is fresh and green and the ride is gloriously cool; midsummer is when that cool matters most, with the top often around ten degrees below the city. Autumn colour comes early here, usually late October into early November, and winter brings rime ice that turns the summit silver. The ropeway keeps shorter hours in winter.
Getting there
- NagoyaA direct Mie Kotsu highway bus reaches Yunoyama Onsen in about an hour.
- Kintetsu-Yokkaichi StationTake the Kintetsu Yunoyama Line to its last stop, Yunoyama-Onsen Station, then a local bus about ten minutes to the ropeway.
- By carFrom the Komono interchange it's a short drive up to Yunoyama Onsen; there is paid parking near the base station.
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Plan your visit
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