Trekking in the Japan Alps

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  Fragile Nature System

  Vegetation within alpine region is very fragile and once disrupted, its restoration requires extended period of years. To protect beautiful scenery of nature, please abide by following rules.
  
  ・Do not step out of the trekking trail.
  ・Do not take animals and plants.
  ・Do not throw away trash. (take all trash with you)

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  Unsettling Weather –
  Devise a Trekking Plan with Extra Time to Spare

  Weather in the mountains is very unsettling. Meticulous check of the weather forecast in advance and data gathering during trekking are very vital. Since the Kumonodaira Mountain Hut is located in deep region of the Japan North Alps and not so many escape routes are available in case of emergency, there are occasions that trekkers are immobilized under adverse weather. Furthermore, under adverse weather, it is very dangerous action for trekkers to push themselves while ignoring such weather to keep up with their trekking plans. We recommend you to devise your trekking plan with extratime to spare. Please pay close attention to information attained at the hut and advises given by its staff.

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  Rain Gear is Absolute Requisite for Trekking

  Japan has a rainy climate, so rain gear is absolutely required for trekking. In alpine range, there are occasions when temperature goes below 10 Celsius (50 Fahrenheit) even in middle of summer, and if one walks in rain without proper rain gear, there is a high risk that he or she may be exposed to death by hypothermia.

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  There is prescribed time table for certain events.

  Unless otherwise announced, the time is as follows.

  Breakfast	From 5:00, First-come-first-served basis per group (after September, from 5:30)
  Dinner	From 17:00, Proceed according to the number assigned at the time of the check-in per group)
  Lights-Out	21:00

  Try to Arrive at the Hut Before 16:00

  If arriving at the hut in late hours, there are occasions that meal cannot be served in ordinary manner.

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  The hut does NOT operate on the Quota System*.
  Since there are days of season that are extremely
  crowded, if possible, please avoid those days. *Capacity of accommodation is defined. Most general accommodation venues such as hotel operate on this mode.

  For a long time, most Japanese mountain huts in the Japan North Alps and other regionsincluding our hut have rarely employed the Quota System, and there are mainly two reasons listed below.
  
  (1) The mountain hut shoulders a role of the emergency evacuation facility.As an example of the alpine region in vicinity of the Kumonodaira, there are no other mountain huts within walking distance of 2 hours for a given mountain hut. If a trekker is immobilized due to his physical condition or changing weather and he is refused for lodging at the hut he originally did not plan with reason of exceeding its physical capacity, he may face life-and-death situation.
  
  (2) Peculiarity of Japanese Society in which holidays of working people overlap each otherThough this trend has been somewhat improved in recent years, peculiarity of Japanese society is that working people are unable to take a long vacation aside from adding extraleave of absence to weekend or national holidays, and there remains corporate culture orsocietal protocol that does not particularly encourage working people to take a leave, thus it creates certain days that are crowded with people who go out on their leisure. Considering this background, if the mountain huts uniformly put limits on number of their guests, it hinders opportunity of leisure for many trekkers as well as risking sound business of the mountain huts and leads to detract infrastructure for environment of mountaineering.
  
  As described above, period between the end of July to middle of August will be extremely crowded time every year, so please take note. In particularly crowded day, there are occasions that guests will be squeezed in and not be able to get one sleeping mattress and one blanket per person (i.e. one mattressfor two, etc.). Basically, at the check-in, guest will be assigned and distributed to given space in the guest quarter.Also, please refer to "Calendar for Expected Congestion" and plan ahead of your visit for less crowded date (Link to Calendar for Expected Congestion).
  

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  Water is Very Valuable

  Our hut relies on rainwater as our sole water supply and since there is limitation for the water storage tank, we ask our guests for water conservation while lodging. For such a reason, we charge for drinking water.

  Water	50Yen for 500ml (16 fl oz)
  Hot Water	100Yen for 500ml (16 fl oz)

  There is free tasty spring water in the camping site that is about 20 minutes walk from our hut, so please consider its use.

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  About Special Request for Meal

  Our hut basically serves prescribed menu for breakfast and dinner. However, if you have some things that you cannot eat for reason of allergies, religion, etc., please feel free to notify us in advance. We will do our best to accommodate your needs.

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