Hanayama Funicular

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Skylator (スカイレーター, Sukairētā^?) is a facility that traverses a steep incline in a residential area of Kobe, Japan. It can be considered as a sort of small funicular. In Japan, however, it is legally classified as an incline elevator (斜行エレベーター, shakō erebētā^?), not a funicular railway. There are many other similar facilities in the country, although they are relatively unknown. [1]

Residents of Hanayama use this funicular to quickly reach the nearby train station. It is reliable and convenient. It's of the functional type and doesn't tend to attract tourism; save the odd visitor unfamiliar with funiculars.