Miyajima ropeway and Mount Misen: fares, hours, routes

The Miyajima Ropeway is built from two different systems running in series: a circulating gondola line and a funicular type, which the operator says is unique in Japan.⁶ The Momijidani Line has 8-seater gondolas at about 1-minute intervals and takes approximately 10 minutes. The Shishiiwa Line runs at intervals of 5 to 15 minutes and takes approximately 4 minutes.⁷ You change at Kayatani Station without leaving the system.

The base is Momijidani Station, in Momijidani Park. A free shuttle bus runs to Momijidani Station about every 20 minutes from 9.50 am.⁸ The operator's guide lists a round trip from Momijidani Station to Shishiiwa Station as about one hour there and back, and a trip to the very top of Mt. Misen as about one hour more.⁹ That second hour covers the walk from the top station to the summit.

Know the limits of the cars. This facility has no elevators, and strollers, wheelchairs and other vehicles cannot board the circular ropeway; they are left at the Momijidani Station Office.¹⁰ Pets are not allowed on the ropeway, though service dogs may ride with the person they assist.¹¹ If anyone in your party uses a wheelchair or pushes a stroller, plan the day around those rules before you leave the pier.

The ropeway's published hours are 9:00 until 16:00, with a final return departure at 16:30.¹³ The home page gives the two directions separately: up from 9.00 am to 4.00 pm and down from 9.20 am to 4.30 pm.² The last upward ride is therefore your real deadline. Count backward from the 16:30 final return and leave time to walk from the summit to the top station, which takes about 30 minutes.^3,13

Service stops when the weather turns. The operator lists bad weather such as strong winds and thunderstorms as grounds for suspension, along with periodic maintenance twice a year, around February and July.²⁵ The home page repeats the warning: it may suspend its services because of high winds, thunder, power outage or other circumstances.²³ A day with a wind forecast is a day to have a backup, such as the hiking route down from the summit.

On specific peak days you must reserve a ride in advance online. The operator designates these days, especially during peak seasons, and lists the coming months of them on its service information page.²⁶ Check that page before you travel, especially in peak seasons. If your date is on the list, book first; the hour of the ferry crossing can wait. The Matsudai combo ticket has its own limits: it is not for sale during periodic inspection and maintenance, nor from December 31 to January 1.²⁷

Mount Misen on Miyajima stands 535 meters high in the background of Itsukushima Shrine and has been revered as a sacred mountain since ancient times.³² Kukai, posthumously called Kobo Daishi, opened it as an ascetic holy mountain site, and Misen Hondo was built by Kobo Daishi in 806.^33,34 JNTO describes Mt. Misen as the highest peak on Miyajima, surrounded by the floating torii, Itsukushima Shrine and the island's deer.³⁵

Several sights lie around the summit. The sacred fire in the Reikado hall has been burning for over 1,200 years, and it was used to light the Flame of Peace in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.³⁶ Sanki Daigongen are three fierce guardian gods of Mt. Misen.³⁷ The Great Mandara Rock carries Buddhist scriptures written by Kobo-Daishi.³⁸ The association lists the Reikado fire and the monument at Shishiiwa Station as the island's two Lovers' Sanctuary spots.³⁹

The view repays the climb. From Shishiiwa Station it is only about 30 minutes on foot to the summit.³ On the Daisho-in Course the top ends with a 360-degree view of the Seto Inland Sea.²¹ The 431.2 hectares of Mount Misen primeval forest on the back of the shrine were registered as World Heritage in December 1996.⁴⁰ Take a quiet minute at the top before you start the walk down; the descent asks for attention.