Nose Railway Myoken Line 能勢電鉄
Nose Railway train bound for Nisseichuo Station about to depart from Hankyu Kawanishinoseguchi Station
@Japan Visitor
The Nose Railway Myoken Line runs from Kawanishi in Hyogo Prefecture to Nose in Osaka Prefecture. The line begins at Kawanishinoseguchi Station which is on the Hankyu Takurazuka Line from Umeda.
Nose Railway & Mount Myoken 能勢電鉄
Nose Railway is a small private railway that runs from Kawanishi in Hyogo Prefecture to Nose in Osaka Prefecture.
Myoken Line
The line begins at Kawanishinoseguchi Station which is on the Hankyu Takurazuka Line. Nose Railway is a subsidiary of Hankyu and all the rolling stock is all ex-Hankyu.
The Myoken Line runs 12 kilometers to Myokenguchi Station, climbing steadily up a narrow mountain valley after leaving Kawanishi.
From Yamashita Station, 8 kilometers up the line, the Nissei Line runs a couple of kilometers to Nissei-Chuo Station. Once in the morning, a special commuter train runs all the way from Nissei-Chuo Station to Umeda Station, returning in the evening.
Mount Myoken
Nose Railway also own the cable car that runs up Mount Myoken. The base station, Kurokawa, is 1.5 kilometers north of Myoken-Guchi Station, 5 minutes by bus.
The cablecar takes just 5 minutes to climb up a 23 degree incline to reach Sanjo Station at an altitude of 450 meters. The cable car was built to take worshippers up to Nose Myokenzan, a Nichiren-sect temple on the mountaintop that worships the Pole Star.
The area around Sanjo Station though has now been developed as a park. There are numerous hiking trails, including to the top of the mountain to see the temple or a small forest of beech trees. There are also woodland walks including one through cherry blossoms that is usually blooming later than down in Osaka city.
For the kids there are playgrounds and a miniature forest railway. The park has a cafe and a footbath, but perhaps its best known feature is its barbecue area. All you need bring is the food as everything else can be rented.
From the park a chair lift runs up the mountain to the temple on top. A little less than 600 meters, it takes almost 15 minutes and is delightful, silently gliding through the forest with the only sound being birds singing . In the spring a carpet of yellow rape flowers glides underneath you and in the summer hydrangeas line the route.
Kurokawa, the lower station on the Myoken no Nori Cable Car
@Japan Visitor
List of Myoken Line Stations
NS01 Kawanishi-noseguchi (connects with Hankyu Takarazuka Line), NS02 Kinunobebashi, NS03 Takiyama, NS04 Uguisunomori, NS05 Tsuzumigataki, NS06 Tada, NS07 Hirano, NS08 Ichinotorii, NS09 Uneno, NS10 Yamashita (connects with the Nissei Line), NS11 Sasabe, NS12 Kofudai, NS13 Tokiwadai and NS14 Myokenguchi (connects with the Myoken Cable).
Access
Kawanishinoseguchi Station
20-1 Sakaemachi, Kawanishi-shi, Hyogo 666-0033
Tel: 072 758 9806
20 minutes from Hankyu Umeda Station
Myoken no Mori Cable Car
Harida Kurokawa, Kawanishi, Hyogo 666-0101
The cable car operates from 10 am to 5 pm on weekdays, 9.20 am to 5 pm on weekends.
One way fare is 350 yen for adults, 180 yen for kids
A special return ticket for both the cable car and chair lift is only 1,000 yen for adults, 500 yen for kids.
Myokensan Chair Lift
Omine Kurokawa, Kawanishi, Hyogo 666-0101
The lift operates from 10 am to 5 pm on weekdays, 9.30 am to 5 pm on weekends.
One way fare is 350 yen for adults, 180 yen for kids
A special return ticket for both the cable car and chair lift is only 1,000yen for adults, 500 yen for kids.
Both Nose Railway and Hankyu Railway offer special deals on one day passes that are worth enquiring about. More details for such can be found here.
