One Station Building, a Registered Tangible Cultural Property since 2017
Kinosaki Onsen Ropeway Summit Station (城崎温泉ロープウェイ山頂駅, Kinosaki Onsen Ropeway Sancho-eki) stands at 806-1 Teranoya, Yushima, Kinosaki-cho, Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture, a Showa-period building entered on the register of tangible cultural properties on 27 October 2017. It is a registered property rather than a designated one.
The quantity is one building. The owner is the company that runs the line.
The structure is reinforced concrete, two-storeyed, with a floor area of 187 square metres. The date field reads mid Showa and the year field 1962.
Part of the Roof, and Only Part, Is Flat
Within one building the roof takes two forms.
The Agency records that the platform is built as at the other stations, but that on the west the roof is flat and carries an observation deck.
The platform roof is a vault, curving; on the west alone it is flat.
Above that flat roof lies the deck. Changing the form of the roof is itself what gives the use.
At the Shotokukan main house, a porch at the centre divides a single-storeyed wing from a two-storeyed one. That concerns the height of wings.
Here one roof divides between curve and plane. Neither the foothill nor the Onsenji station is divided this way.
Recorded as Built Like the Other Stations
The record reaches out to the other two stations.
The Agency opens by saying that the platform is built as at the other stations.
Of the 3, only this one names the others for comparison. The entries for the foothill and Onsenji stations carry no such phrase.
The foothill station is given a vaulted roof drawing a gentle curve with beams carried to either side; the Onsenji station, columns lengthened to follow the slope beneath a vault. Each speaks only of itself.
This one says it is the same, then sets out how the west differs. That the 3 belong to one line shows in how the record is written.
The Manpukuji belfry is said to share its structure with the bell tower at Enryakuji. That is a building at another temple. Here the reference stays within one line.
Valued for Shaping the Landscape
The reason given rests on making the view at the summit.
The Agency closes that its outward form is mindful of the setting, and shapes the landscape of the summit well.
Not only is the building mindful of the setting; it is said to shape that setting in turn.
At the Ikinariya storehouse, a view from the road is well loved as one that stands for the character of Niigata. There the building is what is looked at.
Here, carrying an observation deck, it is also what one looks from. It stands at the summit, and the town below is seen from it.
A building to be looked at, and a place to look out from. As a way of stating value this is the fourteenth met.
Riding
The station stands at 806-1 Teranoya, Yushima, Kinosaki-cho, Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture, owned by the company that runs the line.
The Agency records it as the terminus of a ropeway running from the hot spring town to the summit of the mountain.
The west part is two-storeyed, holding a control room, an electrical room and other rooms. What drives the line from the top is kept here.
At 187 square metres it is second of the 3 stations. The foothill station covers 309 square metres and the Onsenji station 141 square metres.
This is a working ropeway, and a ride brings one out onto the deck. Running times and conditions follow the operator's arrangements. Check before travelling.
- 📍 Plan Your Visit to Hyogo
- Find tours, activities & transport passes near Kinosaki Onsen Ropeway Summit Station
- [ Himeji Castle & Kobe Night View Cruise ]
Q&A
- When was the station registered?
- On 27 October 2017, as a registered tangible cultural property. It is registered rather than designated, and the quantity is one building.
- Where is the observation deck?
- On the west, where the roof is flat rather than vaulted. The deck lies above that flat roof.
- How does it differ from the other stations?
- The Agency says the platform is built as at the other stations, then sets out the flat roof and deck on the west. Of the three, only this entry names the others.
- What is valued in it?
- That its outward form is mindful of the setting and shapes the landscape of the summit well: not only mindful of the view, but making it.
- What is inside?
- The west part is two-storeyed and holds a control room, an electrical room and other rooms for running the line.
Basic Information
| Name | Kinosaki Onsen Ropeway Summit Station (城崎温泉ロープウェイ山頂駅) |
|---|---|
| Location | 806-1 Teranoya, Yushima, Kinosaki-cho, Toyooka City, Hyogo Prefecture |
| Designation | Registered tangible cultural property (structure); registered rather than designated; 3 buildings on the same line were registered on the same day |
| Year Designated | 2017 (27 October), registered |
| Quantity | 1 building |
| Dimensions | Reinforced concrete, 2-storeyed, with a floor area of 187 square metres. The west part is 2-storeyed and holds a control room, an electrical room and other rooms. The platform is built as at the other stations, but on the west the roof is flat and carries an observation deck. The date field reads mid Showa and the year field 1962 |
| Owner | The company that runs the line |
| Public Access | A working ropeway station; running times follow the operator's arrangements |
References
- Cultural Heritage Online: the summit station
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/290043
- Cultural Heritage Online: the Onsenji station
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/heritages/detail/294880
- Agency for Cultural Affairs, National Cultural Properties Database
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/
- Toyooka City
- https://www.city.toyooka.lg.jp/
Last verified: 2026.09.13
