The rotating observatory is located at the top of Kanpuyama, and the rotating observation room on the fourth floor is 355 meters high.
It offers a 360-degree panoramic view of the entire city, including the Hachirogata reclaimed land, the Sea of Japan, Chokai Mountain, the Shirakami Mountains, and Irimizaki.
Kankuyama is known as a popular place for paragliding due to its beautiful grass-covered mountain surface and the absence of obstacles in the vicinity.
At the top of the mountain, there is a revolving observatory built in 1964 and a museum of Hachirokata, making it a popular tourist attraction representing Oga City.
The first floor of the observatory has a souvenir store and restaurant, and the second floor has an exhibition hall where photos of the Hachiro Lagoon reclamation period are displayed.
On the third floor, specimens and artifacts related to the history, nature, and geography of the Oga Peninsula are on display.
And the fourth floor is a revolving observatory, which takes about 13 minutes to go around and enjoy a 360-degree panoramic view.
To the south, the coastline stretches from Akita City to the Oga Peninsula, with Mt. Chokai towering behind it.
On the west side, visitors can see Honzan, the highest mountain on the Oga Peninsula, Mayama, the birthplace of the Namahage, and Irimozaki.
To the north, the Shirakami Mountains, a World Natural Heritage site, can be seen from Noshiro Port. To the east, the village of Oogata, where the Hachiro Lagoon was reclaimed, can be seen.
There is also a restaurant with a view, where visitors can enjoy local delicacies such as grouper dishes and Shotsuru yakisoba (fried noodles with grouper).
Geographer Shigetaka Shiga visited Mt. Kanpu in 1913 and introduced its beautiful scenery as one of the three most scenic places in the world, along with the Grand Canyon in the U.S. and fjords in Norway.
Shiga praised Mt. Kanpusan in his book “Nihon Kaoron” (Japanese Scenic Views), saying, “There is a circular old crater at the top of the mountain, and the entire mountain is composed of pyroxene andesite with a circumference of about 1 ri.
The Oga Peninsula is designated as a Japan Geopark as the Oga Peninsula-Ogata Geopark, and Mt.
8:30-17:00
(Extended hours are available during the summer)
Open from mid-March to early December
Open every day during the period
Adults 550 yen
Elementary, junior high and high school students 270 yen
15 minutes by car from Wakimoto Station on the Oga Namahage Line