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Chichibu-Tama-Kai NP, Yamanashi
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The summit station was a helicopter job: when the Shōsenkyō Ropeway opened on November 1, 1964, no road reached Panoramadai, so large construction materials had to be flown to the mountaintop.
Panoramadai is San-no-dake, the third peak of sacred Rakanji-yama. Old accounts place halls for Amida, Shaka and Yakushi on its 3 peaks; the mountain itself served as a place of religious practice.
Yakumo Shrine dates to 1564, when it served as guardian of Ikari village. A phallic stone was enshrined there, and pilgrims prayed for safe passage on the Kinzakura route; today, visitors pray for good matches.
Elsewhere on Rakanji-yama, archaeologists found the old Rakanji temple built across more than 10 stone terraces cut into a steep ravine. Fire-scorched foundations may preserve traces of the 1651 blaze that destroyed it.
Local legend says a master sake brewer on nearby Yasaburo-dake swore off alcohol after drunken mishaps, then vanished as a tengu. A small summit shrine honors Yasaburo Gongen, revered locally as a sake deity.
Ropeway cars Fuku-chan and Yume-chan travel in opposite directions and pass at mid-route; their guides wave to one another as they cross. Their destination is the Panoramadai summit station.
Panoramadai is entry No. 92 in the Kanto Regional Development Bureau’s “100 Views of Mt. Fuji.” The designation specifically recognizes the ropeway’s summit station as a Fuji-viewing spot within Shōsenkyō.
