First Ropeway Ride

Enough preamble… On this day, I was a bit torn about whether to go up Horikawa Street, Karasuma Street, or Kawabata Street to get to Demachiyanagi, but since I wasn’t in a hurry and had time, I chose to go along Kawabata Street by the Kamo River (which has heavy traffic) to really feel Kyoto (sorry for the local trivia).

As we got closer to central Kyoto, the number of cars increased and the stop-and-go traffic became intense, but I was surprised that driving a manual in the traffic jam wasn’t a bother at all. With the BMW 320i, the clutch is light and easy to operate, so I actually enjoyed driving the whole time.

If it’s like this, traffic jams might not be so bad after all (laughs).

After getting through the Kawabata Street traffic, we finally arrived at Demachiyanagi Station about 20 minutes later than planned. From there, we transferred to the Eizan Electric Railway and headed for the cable car. Usually, I’m always driving, so it was nice to travel by local train for a change.

The kids seemed to enjoy it too.

As for the ropeway itself, there was no air conditioning inside (energy-saving measure?), so we ended up sweating quite a bit, but it was nice to get a panoramic view of Kyoto and have a unique experience.

The summit was hotter than I expected, and although it was cooler than the base, we explored while wiping sweat and saying “It’s hot!” Well, since we usually travel by car, it’s good to break a sweat like this once in a while (laughs).

According to a blog reader, another option was to drive up the Hiei Driveway, park at the summit parking lot, and then walk to the ropeway’s summit station.

I see…

This Hiei Driveway apparently fills up quickly on sunny evenings, and I’ve been interested for a while, but the toll is a bit pricey. (Even the closest round trip from the Tanotani toll gate is 840 yen)

Still, I’d love to try it next time I get the chance. Not just Hiei, but there seem to be many nice roads in the northern part of Kyoto city, so I want to explore them and capture some videos.