Daisetsuzan Sōunkyō Kurodake Ropeway — Attraction in Kamikawa

If staying in Sounkyo this is a good activity to do - you can buy a ticket for the rope way up Mt Kurodake. The rope way coats about ¥2400 return adult (¥1200 for 12 and under)- and this will get you halfway up the mountain. From there you can access a slow / low chairlift (2 person / no safety bar) that will take you up to 80% of the rest of the way to the top. You can buy the combo ticket (¥3000 return adult, ¥1500 12 and under) for a discounted rate at the ground station... but will pay more if you change your mind when you reach the top of the ropeway (¥3200 return adult, ¥1600 for 12 and under). Ropeway goes every 20 mins at this time of year.

The chairlift doesn’t do much except save you walking. If you elect to stay just around the ropeway station then there’s only a few observation points (best is on top of the ropeway station itself). Our family didn’t have time to hike up to the top - and as such, while it was fun, it’s also an expensive photo-op for a family of 4. An alternative is to take the Asahidake ropeway - for about the same cost you get more options to walk around.

The view is great - though the leaves had all dropped at the top by 11 October. We were lucky that it was warm up there... but at this time of year you might need to bring warm clothing.

If you feel lucky you can try going up early in the day - first ride at 6am. There’s a chance you’ll get to experience the ‘sea of clouds’. But experience has shown to me you might need to be lucky. We went in midday and had a good 1 hour walk around. There’s reasonable infrastructure at the upper station, but not much after that.

Be warned the ropeway while safe is also quite high (obviously) so if your at all squeamish of heights please be sure (once your heading up no changing your mind). Also be aware that this IS a volcanic area, and whilst dormant there’s...

I stayed in Sounkyo for 2 days at the beginning of March 2024. I took the Mt. Kurodake cable-car around 10am - there were only 3 other people in the gondola! I was lucky that the weather was fantastic - clear, blue sky and little wind. The view from the observation platform on top of the cable-car station was amazing - 360 degree mountains as far as you could see. I was the only one on the observation deck when I arrived! Skiers and snowboarders can take a chairlift which you can walk to from the top cable-car station - only skiers and snowboarders were allowed to take the chairlift. I saw some skiers that climbed further up Mt. Kurodake from the top of the chairlift. I saw them coming down from the summit - you would have to hike to get that high! I also saw ski tracks off-piste. You can buy an all-day lift ticket for the cable-car and chairlift if you are a keen skier / snowboarder. There is only one on-piste run down the mountain, so I think the people that are skiing all day are advanced and are going off-piste. If the weather is good, even if you're not a skier the view from the cable-car and observation deck is...

A must visit when in the area for the stunning views. The ropeway and chairlift were very old and slow though so manage your expectations (I was disappointed). The rope way got quite crowded so if you end up in the middle, your visit will get obstructed. Luckily for us, we were last to board when coming down so we were not blocked. We attempted to hike up the trail after the chairlift but the path was muddy and icy at some parts and also quite steep. We saw many people slip and fall. So unless you have good proper hiking shoes (we didn’t), don’t bother. We ended up with nothing but muddy shoes and feeling a little foolish. Enjoy the views from the chairlift and ropeway areas. The ropeway views are already stunning enough so if you choose to skip the chairlift, I personally...