Mount Tengu
天狗山
A 532-metre mountain behind Otaru’s city center. A cable car takes 4 minutes to the summit, where the harbor night view is one of Hokkaido’s three great night views.
Mount Tengu rises 532 metres southwest of central Otaru, and the Tengu cable car reaches the summit in about 4 minutes. The summit observation deck overlooks the town, the harbor and Ishikari Bay. On clear days you can see the Shakotan Peninsula in the distance. The night view here is ranked alongside Hakodate’s Mount Hakodate and Mount Moiwa in Sapporo as one of Hokkaido’s three great night views. The summit also has a squirrel park, the Tengu Shrine where visitors rub the nose of the tengu statue to make wishes, and restaurants. In winter the mountain becomes a ski area with sea views. Cable car hours are about 09:00 to 21:00, though these vary in winter and during maintenance. Check the official website for round-trip ticket prices, which are about 1,800 yen. Getting there: take a Chuo Bus from JR Otaru Station for about 17 minutes to the Tengu Cable Car stop.
Opening hours
Cable car approx. 9:00 am–9:00 pm
Nearby sights
- Otaru Sankaku Market
- Funami-zaka Slope
- Bank of Japan Otaru Museum
- Former Temiya Line
- Otaru Sushi Street
- Kenashiyama Observatory
- Nitori Otaru Art Base
- Sakaimachi Street