The night view at the observatory on the top of the 531-meter tall Mt. Moiwa at Hokkaido was said to be the top three in the whole of Japan and needless to say, i had to check it out despite my lack of skill in taking photographs at night.
Upon disembarkation from the streetcar at its "ropeway iriguchi" station, you would see the map showing the straightforward direction to the bus stop; a mere 60 meters away.
I was half expecting to stand in the drizzle while waiting for the shuttle bus but maybe because of the weather, there were not too many visitors in the small, sheltered bus stop.
Shuttle bus came within five minutes of wait!
Toy on the dashboard of the shuttle; it's the mascot of Mt Moiwa known as Morris. From its appearance, i thought it was a soot sprite from "Spirited Away"! Turned out it was based on the abundance of red squirrels on the mountain.
Arrival at the ropeway's sanroku station in about five minutes too. I am aware the station wasn't too far from the shuttle bus stop and would take me about 10 minutes to conquer the 600-meter distance; however, laziness kicked in when the sky is shedding tears.
Map showing the three stations; from sanroku to chufuku station via the ropeway and then from chufuku to sancho station via a mini cable car that worked like the railway tram in Penang!
Schedule for the ropeway.
Satellite map showing the points of interest; aside from the ropeway, you can actually reach chufuku station by driving up there! Pity we no longer have the rented car. :(
View of the city from sanroku station.
We can catch a glimpse of the iconic Sapporo TV Tower and the ferris wheel on top of a building known as Norbesa. Why did i specifically point out the ferris wheel? Because we actually got to ride it the next day!
Temperature on top of the mountain; 20 degree celcius! I don't foresee an issue so long the wind were not too strong. Of course there's something i have missed. p.s. i often overlook things when i am focus on my photo-taking.
Low visibility on the summit and even the counter staff wasn't confident that everything will clear up that night. I was hopeful that luck might not have forsaken us totally and we could maybe catch a bit of the night scenery.
Until i was requested to take a look at the monitor above the sign showing the temperature on the summit; it was way too foggy and i doubt things will improve in one or two hours. Sigh.... sad that the planning had come to naught. Maybe it's fate for me to visit Hokkaido again in the near future!
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For my 8 days, 7 nights Hokkaido itinerary in summer, click here.
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