The busiest gondola lift operator is Hakone Ropeway Co., Ltd. (Japan), which carried 2,064,241 paying passengers in the fiscal year 2009. The service operates 4 km (2.5 miles) from Sounzan Station to Togendai Station in Hakone, Kanagawa, Japan.

The service started in Hakone, one of the most popular resorts in Japan, in 1959. It takes approximately 30 minutes to go each way.