Spaceship Ropeway, Japan

The Spaceship Ropeway is an abandoned cable car station in Japan. This aerial tramway station perches on a valley side, overlooking the river below. The ropeway was once part of a theme park, which sits on the opposite side of the broad valley.

The theme park and cable car stations opened in the 1960s. Adults could ride the Spaceship Ropeway for 600 yen, and children could ride for 400 yen. The ropeway is around 730m long, and ferried customers across the river 50m below their feet, and must have provided a wonderful of the theme park as customers descended in the gondola.

The theme park closed around 2000, due to poor management, and the ropeway closed along with it. Although the theme park has now re-opened (sadly not haikyo!) this forgotten ropeway station lays forgotten. There are no signs that the cable car system will not be brought back into service any time soon.

One of the Spaceship Ropeway rounded gondolas sits alone, in the upper station. This car was built in the 1980s and features the name “Silver” emblazoned upon it. The gondola is green with red detailing, making the name Silver a little cryptic. It may have sported a different paint job in the past. The cabin weighs around 1 tonne and with an operating capacity of 40 passengers.

This location is simply a stunning haikyo location; the rounded-shape of this gondola is unique amongst Japanese ruins.

We visited this location during our Japan Haikyo Tour 2019.

How this Cable Car Operated

There are several names for this type of transport system. “Cable car” is most common term in Britain, and “aerial lift” or “aerial tramway” is more typical in America. Ropeways is the preferred name in Japan.

This type of aerial tramway features three cables which run between the two stations. The two fixed cables (trunk cables) support the load of the gondola. The cabin is attached to the third rope (haulage rope) with strong grips. An electric motor at lower station pulls the haulage rope, providing propulsion for the cable car.

The haulage rope reverses direction when the car enters the station, sending the car back along to cable to the other station. The electric motor would pull one gondola down the hill. At the same time, the other car would be pulled up the hill by the weight of the first car being pulled downhill. The two gondolas pass each other in the middle of the ropeway, as they travelled in opposite directions on separate ropes. This system is similar in mechanics to that used in funicular railways.