Shin-Hotaka Ropeway in Takayama
Last updated: September 13, 2026
Japan's only double-decker gondola climbs more than a thousand vertical metres into the Northern Alps: from the hot-spring hamlet of Shinhotaka in Okuhida, the Shin-Hotaka Ropeway rises in two stages to an observation deck at 2,156 metres, where the Yari and Hotaka peaks stand close enough to read their ridgelines. The panorama holds two Michelin stars and changes character completely by season — alpine green, blazing autumn, and a winter snow corridor carved taller than the visitors walking it — with the new Peak Forest area adding trails around the summit station. Onsen foot baths wait at the bottom for the descent.
Itinerary
- Stop at: Shin-Hotaka Ropeway
Frequently Asked Questions
The second stage runs Japan's only two-storey gondola cabins — ride the upper deck for the widest views as the forest drops away and the 3,000-metre wall of the Hotaka range fills the windows. The two stages together lift you over a vertical kilometre from the valley floor.
The rooftop observation deck at 2,156 metres, face to face with Yarigatake's spear point and the Okuhotaka massif — a view awarded two Michelin stars — surrounded by the Peak Forest area: the Yari Corridor with its nerve-testing net platform at the deck's edge, the Forest Terrace for a drink among the pines, and the Nishiho Dance photo spot. In winter, a snow corridor cut through head-high drifts joins the list.
Nohi buses run from Takayama via Hirayu Onsen to the ropeway's base at Shinhotaka Onsen in about 100 minutes — the deepest corner of the Okuhida hot-spring villages. Drivers park at the base station; the mountain does the rest.
Every season sells a different mountain: fresh alpine green in early summer, the Alps' first snowcaps over autumn colour in October, and the deep-winter corridor of snow at the top. Mornings beat afternoons for clear summits — cloud builds over the peaks after midday in most seasons.