Japan is Nippon 日本語
Rocky peaks and autumn colours in Kankakei gorge with the Seto Inland Sea in the distance
Photo: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Kagawa · viewpoint

Kankakei Ropeway

寒霞渓ロープウェイ

A 5-minute gondola ride up Kankakei, Shodoshima's gorge of strange rocks, with sheer cliffs outside the window and the Seto Inland Sea beyond.

A Kankakei Ropeway gondola passing over the gorge in autumn
Photo: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
Jagged rock formations above red and orange autumn leaves at Kankakei
Photo: 663highland, CC BY 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

Kankakei, a gorge made by volcanoes

Kankakei is a gorge almost in the middle of Shodoshima, the second-largest island in the Seto Inland Sea. It lies between Mount Hoshigajo, the island's highest peak, and Shihozashi. Rock formed by volcanic activity about 13 million years ago has been worn away over a very long time into a mass of strangely shaped crags and cliffs.

It was once known by names such as Kamikakeyama, but in 1878 the Confucian scholar Fujisawa Nangaku named it Kankakei. It was designated a national Place of Scenic Beauty in 1923, and in 1934 it became a showpiece of the Setonaikai National Park, one of the first national parks designated in Japan.

A ropeway for sky, sea and gorge

The ropeway opened in 1963. Gondolas carrying 40 people link Koun Station (Kountei) at the foot with the Summit Station in about 5 minutes. The operator describes it as a ropeway where you can see "the sky, the sea and the gorge" all at once: from the gondola you look down on the rocky gorge and out to Uchinomi Bay beyond.

The scenery changes with the seasons: fresh greenery in spring, autumn colours in autumn and wintry views in winter. The most popular time is the autumn leaf season, which usually peaks from early to late November. Because of the difference in height, the colours spread down from the summit to the foot, so you can enjoy them for a relatively long time.

Things to do at the top

There are two viewing platforms near the Summit Station, and on clear days you can see from Uchinomi Bay across the Seto Inland Sea to the mountains of Shikoku. At the viewpoint you can try kawarake-nage, throwing small unglazed clay dishes at a target; getting one through is said to bring good luck.

A work by sculptor Noe Aoki, "Sora no Tama / Kankakei" ("Sky Ball / Kankakei"), made for the Setouchi Triennale 2022 (a contemporary art festival held every three years), is permanently installed at the summit.

Walking down, and getting there

Kankakei has two hiking trails past its rock formations: the Omote Junikei ("Twelve Front Views") and the Ura Hakkei ("Eight Back Views"). According to the official website, each takes about an hour one way. You can combine the two by riding the ropeway up and walking down.

To reach Shodoshima, ferries and high-speed boats run from Takamatsu Port to Tonosho Port and other ports on the island. On the island, a free seasonal shuttle bus links Kusakabe Port with Koun Station, and you can also use local buses or a hire car. Timetables and fares change with the seasons, so check the official website.

Tips

  • During the autumn leaf season fares differ from the rest of the year and it gets crowded. Check the operating calendar on the official website, including the days it does not run, before you set out.
  • You cannot make a return trip on the last gondola of the day. If you want time at the top, go up on an earlier one.
  • The trails are in a special zone of the national park. Watch out for monkeys, wild boar, hornets and mamushi (Japanese pit vipers), and take your rubbish home with you.

Sources

Updated 30 September 2026. Opening hours and prices change, so check the official site before you go.

Keep exploring

Nearby places

Kagawa · coast Angel Road エンジェルロード A sandbar on Shodoshima that appears only at low tide. Twice a day you can walk across it to a small island offshore.
Okayama · farm Ushimado Olive Garden 牛窓オリーブ園 About 2,000 olive trees on a hill in Ushimado, called "Japan's Aegean". The lookout at the top takes in the islands of the Seto Inland Sea.
Kagawa · castle Takamatsu Castle Ruins (Tamamo Park) 史跡高松城跡玉藻公園 The ruins of a "sea castle" whose moats are filled with Seto Inland Sea water. Next to the station, with stone walls, old turrets and sea bream swimming by.
Kagawa · garden Ritsurin Garden 栗林公園 A lord's garden built over 100+ years for the Matsudaira of Takamatsu: six ponds and 13 hills below Mount Shiun, with a new view at every step.
Okayama · castle Okayama Castle 岡山城 Okayama's symbol, nicknamed "Crow Castle" for its black walls. Revamped in 2022, it tells samurai-era stories and gives a view over the city from the top.
Okayama · garden Okayama Korakuen Garden 岡山後楽園 An Edo-period lord's garden and one of Japan's three great gardens: wide lawns, ponds, Okayama Castle beyond, and even tea fields, rice paddies and cranes.