History
Kiyotaki Station is the lower terminus of the Takao Tozan Cable Car (Takao Kōsaku Line) in Takao-machi, Hachiōji, Tokyo, sitting at an elevation of about 201 metres at the foot of Mount Takao. The 1.020 km cable line was opened on 21 January 1927 by the Takao Tozan Railway (originally Takao Sakudō, 1921) after a six-year struggle: the planned route had to be revised due to the 1923 Great Kantō Earthquake destroying the upper terminus site. After a wartime suspension from 11 February 1944, service resumed on 16 October 1949 under the new name 'Takao Kankō', then took today's name 'Takao Tozan Dentetsu' in May 1952. The fourth-generation cars 'Aoba' and 'Momiji' (built by Keiō Heavy Industry) entered service on 23 December 2008. The Keiō Takao Line's Takaosanguchi Station is a 5-minute walk from this station.
History summarized from Japanese & English Wikipedia · last reviewed 2026-06-09.
Where the English and Japanese sources differ, this account follows the Japanese source.
Notes
Just before reaching the upper Takaosan Station, the cable line includes a stretch with a 608‰ (31°18') gradient — by Japanese Railway Business Act standards this is the steepest grade of any railway in Japan; the smallest grade on the same line, 105‰, is unusually gentle for a cable car, so the cars tilt noticeably as they climb.