The weather warmed up nicely today, melting any remaining snow and reaching a high of 52°F (11°C).
I took the streetcar to the Mount Moiwa Ropeway stop and walked up to the ground station to up to the observation deck.
There was a beautiful sun break in the sky this morning at 7 am.The Sapporo Streetcar (Sapporo Shiden), operated by the Sapporo City Transportation Bureau, is a 24-stop loop streetcar system serving central Sapporo and the southern residential neighborhoods. Some cars are vintage models (this one that I hopped onto), and others seem to be brand new technology.The Mt. Moiwa Ropeway in Sapporo was constructed and opened in 1958 (with operations starting on July 5, 1958) by the Sapporo City Transportation Bureau.Here we go. There are two sections: first a ropeway section to a transfer station, and then a rail section.This is a war memorial* on the left, and way down below goes the other gondola on the way down. *Officially named the Sapporo Peace Pagoda (Japanese: 札幌平和塔, Sapporo Heiwa-tō), and is also commonly referred to as the Sapporo Peace Stupa or Buddha Relic Tower (Bussharitō).Still going up.Here is the second section: a duplex train car that runs on a rail to get to the final stop.The main river that runs through Sapporo is the Toyohira River. It supplies the vast majority of Sapporo’s tap water and flows past popular spots like Jōzankei Onsen and downtown Sapporo.Infographic boards along the rail of the observation deck point out landmarks and the mountain peaks in the distance. Mount Moiwa is 531 m (1,742 ft) high and there was an icy wind blowing, so I did not stay too long. Have the Martians landed in Sapporo? No— it is the Sapporo Dome (札幌ドーム, Sapporo Dōmu), since 2024 named Daiwa House Premist Dome (大和ハウス プレミストドーム, Daiwa Hausu Puremisuto Dōmu) for sponsorship reasons. It is primarily used as a soccer stadium, but can be turned into a baseball stadium as well.There goes the twin rail cars down to the transfer station.All done, and I walked back to the street car stop. I am getting a sleek new car to run me back to the city center.The street cars have their own lanes, and don’t share it with cars like the ones in Seattle do.
