Takao Tozan Cable

The cable car was conceived by Buntoku Mutō, the 27th chief priest of Takaosan Yakuō-in, the temple on the mountain. Mount Takao drew very large numbers of worshippers, who until then had to walk from Asakawa Station (today's Takao Station) on the Chūō Main Line to the foot of the mountain and then climb a steep path on foot. Arguing that the mountain needed proper transport, Mutō joined with local notables, including a former head of Asakawa village, to apply for a licence; during a year abroad in India and Europe studying religious affairs he saw funiculars first-hand and sent material home to advance the plan. A railway licence was granted in August 1921, and in September that year the Takao Sakudō Company was founded with capital of 300,000 yen.

Construction proved difficult, and the line took years to open. Mount Takao was state-held forest under the Imperial Household Ministry's forestry administration, so felling trees and borrowing land required laborious procedures, and there was little domestic precedent for funiculars — only the Ikoma cable line was then in operation. The Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923 destroyed the planned site of the upper station, forcing changes to the route. The company was renamed Takao Tozan Railway in May 1925, work finally began at the end of June 1925, and on 21 January 1927 the cable car opened between Kiyotaki and Takaosan.

The early decades were hard. The Shōwa financial panic depressed ridership just after opening, and the heavy construction cost left the firm dependent on borrowing, with interest payments swallowing more than half of operating revenue through the late 1930s; in 1934 the capital had to be written down to cover accumulated losses. On 21 July 1942 a corroded haulage cable snapped and a runaway car plunged down the incline, killing three crew and passengers and injuring sixty-five — the worst accident in the line's history. As the Pacific War intensified, the funicular was branded a "non-urgent line" and was suspended on 11 February 1944, its materials surrendered for the war effort.

After the war the line was rebuilt and revived. The company was renamed Takao Kankō in June 1948, cable-car service resumed on 16 October 1949, and in May 1952 the firm took its present name, Takaotozan Railway. The leisure boom of the high-growth 1960s brought more visitors and new investment: a parallel single-seat chairlift, the "Echo Lift," opened alongside the cable car between Sanroku and Sanjō in October 1964 (rebuilt as a two-seat lift in 1971), and in 1968 large new Hitachi-built cars with fully automatic control replaced the older rolling stock. A fourth generation of cars entered service on 23 December 2008.

In March 2017 Keiō Electric Railway acquired a controlling stake and the long-independent operator became part of the Keiō Group, which already ran the Chūō Main Line connections to the mountain. The cable car briefly halted during the COVID-19 state of emergency over the 2020 Golden Week holiday, and in October 2025 its long-standing return-ticket discount was withdrawn. Looking ahead to the line's centenary in 2027, the company has announced that the cars will be replaced again — a fifth generation built by CWA of Switzerland and Nippon Cable, with the design supervised by architect Kengo Kuma, scheduled to enter service in March 2028.

• 192111 August: a railway licence is granted to the Takao Sakudō Company; on 29 September the company is founded with capital of 300,000 yen.
• 192531 May: the company is renamed Takao Tozan Railway; construction of the cable car begins on 30 June.
• 192721 January: the cable car opens between Kiyotaki and Takaosan stations.
• 194221 July: a corroded cable snaps and a runaway car falls down the incline, killing three and injuring 65 — the line's worst accident.
• 194411 February: the cable car is suspended as a 'non-urgent line' under wartime measures and its materials are surrendered.
• 194828 June: the company is renamed Takao Kankō.
• 194916 October: cable-car service between Kiyotaki and Takaosan resumes after the war.
• 195228 May: the company takes its present name, Takaotozan Railway.
• 196410 October: the 'Echo Lift' chairlift opens between Sanroku and Sanjō, parallel to the cable car (rebuilt as a two-seat lift in 1971).
• 196829 September: third-generation Hitachi-built cars with fully automatic control enter service.
• 200823 December: fourth-generation cars enter service.
• 2017March: Keiō Electric Railway acquires a controlling stake and the operator joins the Keiō Group.
• 202025 April – 6 May: the cable car is suspended over the Golden Week holiday under the COVID-19 state of emergency.
• 20251 October: the long-standing return-ticket discount is abolished.