Mount Aso Ropeway: Difference between revisions

Aerial lift line in Aso, Kumamoto, Japan

Mount Aso Ropeway
Interactive map of Mount Aso Ropeway
Status	Non-Operational
Character	Aerial tramway
Location	Mount Aso, Aso, Kumamoto, Japan
No. of stations	2
Open	10 April 1958
Carrier capacity	41 Passengers per cabin, 2 cabins
Trip duration	4 min
Line length	858 m (2,815 ft)
No. of cables	2 track cables and 2 haulage ropes
Operating speed	3.6 m/s
Vertical Interval	108 m (354 ft)
Maximum Gradient	17°47′

The Mt. Aso Ropeway (阿蘇山ロープウェイ, Asosan Rōpuwei) was a Japanese aerial lift line in Aso, Kumamoto, operated by Kyūshū Sankō Tourism (九州産交ツーリズム, Kyūshū Sankō Tsūrizumu).

It was opened in 1958, and climbs Mount Aso. Its official website claims it was the first aerial lift in the world to be built on an active volcano.^[1] It went up from the west side of the crater edge, each 15-20 min. It only ran during Volcanic Alert Level 1 (normal).

It often stopped operating due to higher Volcanic Alert Levels. The last operation time was in August 2014.

On the first floor of the original rope station building, there was a 3D projector showing the Mount Aso scenes of 4 seasons, and the geographic history of craters.

During the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes, the cable station and ropes were damaged by volcanic ash and earthquakes. On 28 February 2018, the crater access restriction was lifted, but the ropeway stayed closed. A shuttle bus service runs from the original boarding area, Mount Aso terminal, to the crater’s edge as a replacement.^[2] On 12 October 2018, it was announced that the station and ropes would be dismantled, with a target to finish by spring 2019.^[3]

32°52′48.9″N 131°4′46.8″E / 32.880250°N 131.079667°E / 32.880250; 131.079667