What other travelers are saying about Shishiiwa Observatory
FIRST! GET THERE EARLY IN THE MORNING!!!! Catch that 730am ferry! Beautiful weather, quiet & peaceful and be the first people to make your way up to the viewing points with minimal waits the entire experience. If you show up on the later ferries, you will be waiting as we were descending the mountain!
Last gondola station with view point, small restaurant, gift shop, and washroom.
View point is great with lots of photo stops. Recommend going in mornings early and only if weather is good. You are pretty high up so if weather is bad you won’t see the view.
There are lots of hiking trails from here to surrounding mountains and shrines if you have time.
I visited at the end of August. It was incredibly hot with little shade. Better wear a hat or bring a parasol for shielding yourself from the sun.
It was so hot that I decided not to do the hike to the shrine/temple. Thankfully I did not have to line up for the ropeway.
This place is right beside the ropeway station. It has a decent view even in this foggy weather.
You can either get here via a 1hour + hike or take the ropeway up. This observatory has a better view than the one at the peak today due to the fog. The visibility was so low at the peak that I cannot see what I saw from this viewpoint.
The ropeway costs 1000 yen per direction and operates until 4:30pm if you are hiking do take note as after the ropeway stops you have to walk down.
When I came up they were already announced that due to strong wind the service might be temporarily suspended. I hiked anyways thinking that it will get better. However, I was wrong when I returned. I checked the wind forecast, it was predicted to maintain till 6pm.
In the end, I was forced to walk down, it was definitely not easy, so do listen to the ropeway station announcement and plan ahead.
Visited at 27 Mar 2025
Beautiful ;to see the view of the sea. And it’s more or less what you would see up at mount Misen (without the deers)in case you do not have the time to reach there. From here to the Mount Misen,it is said to take 30mins going and 30mins coming but we started our walk from here at 3:36pm to mount Misen and we reached up there at 3:58pm and returned back to the cabin station at 4:19pm for the last cabin lift at 4:30pm but we walked fast/running a bit.
Since there was long queue of people starting at 4pm and delay on the part of the cabin etc,the last time for the cabin lift to go down was extended to accommodate everyone that had lined up. That was nice;Thanks!
Yes, the observatory is wheelchair accessible and has an elevator for easy access to the viewing area.
While bringing outside food or drinks is not restricted, please be mindful of your surroundings and dispose of any trash properly.
No, pets are not allowed inside the observatory for safety reasons.
A gift shop sells souvenirs and local products near the observatory's entrance.
Yes, professional cameras are allowed for personal use. However, please be mindful of other visitors and not block any pathways or view areas while taking photos.
