It is a historic ropeway that first opened in 1955, and the current ropeway is the sixth generation. It takes about 4 minutes to reach the summit of the 329-meter-high mountain from the station in Gifu Park at the foot of Kinkasan, where Gifu Castle is located. The ropeway runs every 15 minutes on a regular basis and every 10 minutes during peak hours. It is 599.43m long with a 255.43m height difference and was the first ropeway in Japan to use a bladeless fan.
The station at the mountain's base has a gift shop, a rest area, coin lockers, and a nursing room. Pets are permitted on the ropeway, and small pet cages are available.
There is a small food court, "Terrace Court 329," and an observation deck at the summit, as well as a restaurant, "Le Pont de Ciel," with a glass wall overlooking the southeast to the north, where visitors can enjoy a meal while admiring the spectacular view.
The "Squirrel Village," located just outside the Kinkazan summit station, allows visitors to interact with squirrels. Mt. Kinka is home to a large number of wild squirrels, which were trained over time to create Japan's first "Squirrel Village" in 1965. The wild squirrels are said to be Taiwanese squirrels that escaped from a 1936 exposition and became feral.
Highlights
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It takes visitors 4 minutes to reach the summit of Mt. Kinka.
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Visitors can interact with squirrels at “Squirrel Village” near the summit station.
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There is a restaurant and an observation deck at the summit station, where visitors can enjoy a panoramic view of Gifu City and the Nagara River.
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It is occasionally open during the night for visitors to enjoy the breathtaking view.
