Mount Usu Ropeway was added to Your Favorites!
Shikotsu-Tōya NP., Hokkaido
Claim this place to tell your story your way.
Since opening in 1965, this ropeway has seen 2 Usu eruptions and reports no accidents. It stopped running on March 28, 2000; the volcano's first blast came 3 days later, on March 31.
Just a 7-minute walk from the ropeway station, USU360 looks into Gin-numa, formed when eruption vents joined in 1978. During the same eruptive sequence, Usu-shinzan rose 40–50 m in only 2½ months.
Showa Shinzan below the ropeway rose from a wheat field in 1943–45. Wartime postmaster Masao Mimatsu recorded its growth from a fixed viewpoint; his “Mimatsu Diagram” gained international recognition in 1948.
USU360, opened on April 25, 2025, is a 230 m² wooden deck up to 3 m high, reached by a 7-minute walk from the summit station. Its raised perch lets you scan crater, lake and bay in one 360° sweep.
The summit café's Geo smoothie was a tasty map of 4 towns: Sobetsu apples, Toyoura strawberries, Date spinach and Toyako komatsuna greens. One glass brought neighboring farms together in the geopark.
At the foot station, the volcano-themed spicy-miso ramen gets a local twist: its chashu is made with local whey-fed pork. The menu also brings together Sapporo miso and Muroran curry-ramen styles.
