New Chapter -Lift & Gondola Celebration-

It's almost the end of the year 2021. Just one month ago, Hanazono celebrated a memorable day. Here is a look back at that day.

Lift and gondola by POMA, France

New lift and gondola celebration ceremony was held on November 30, 2021. It was a special day for us as we finally completed the project after many years of preparation and unveiled it to everyone.

The ceremony was broadcast live from Hong Kong, the parent company of Nihon Harmony Resorts, Pacific Century Premium Developments (PCPD), and Mr. Benjamin Lam, Deputy Chairman and Group Managing Director of PCPD, gave his greetings to the guests. Colin Hackworth, the representative of Nihon Harmony Resorts, gave a passionate speech about how historic this day was.

Hanazono is a dream, and what we see here today is that dreams do come true.

The following is an excerpt from a speech by Colin Hackworth

Wire made by Fatzer, Switzerland

We gave commemorative gifts to those who contributed greatly to the completion of Hanazono lift 1 and Hanazono Symphony Gondola. This gift is a cut piece of wire used in the new lift and gondola. The diameter of the wire is 52mm and it is manufactured by Fatzer in Switzerland. The core material is made of resin to prevent friction of the wire, and it has a high degree of roundness, durability, and long life. Wires cut into 30cm pieces with visible cross-sections were presented as a gift.

Then, we received a commemorative plaque from POMA of the cableway manufacturer in celebration of the completion of the lift and gondola. What a nice surprise!

Celebration Performance

We moved to the bottom station area of Hanazono Symphony Gondola for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The beanies worn by the ribbon cutters are actually original ones made by POMA. Thank you so much!!

And to celebrate this memorable day, we had a performance called Champagne saber. This is said to originate from the Middle Ages when the French Navy used swords to cut off the head of champagne to pray for safe voyages and victory in battle. Nowadays, it is popular mainly in France as a performance to celebrate the start of a new journey!

Gondola Ride

Finally, we had a test ride on brand new Hanazono Symphony Gondola. And at the top station, we showed off some of the storage functions that are not usually open to the public.

Toward the Future

New lift and gondola are designed to deliver experiences for people of all ages, both now and into the future. And most importantly, it delivers the first stage of what we hope will be an extension of the Hanazono skifield to Weiss Mountain.