藤原山荘

Unstaffed emergency shelter at about 1,090m on the ridge of Fujiwaradake in Suzuka Quasi-National Park, in Ibarakawa-cho, Higashiomi City, Shiga Prefecture. Inabe City's climbing map marks it as "Fujiwaradake Sanso (emergency shelter)": 15 minutes above the eighth station, 20 minutes below the Fujiwaradake viewpoint (1,140m) and 30 minutes from Tengu-iwa (1,171m). Fujiwaradake straddles the boundary between Inabe City in Mie Prefecture and Higashiomi City in Shiga Prefecture, a karst landscape dotted with the dolines typical of limestone country and known as a mountain of flowers; from March to May many walkers come for Amur adonis, Eranthis pinnatifida, dogtooth violets and windflowers. Near the top, limestone and bamboo grass make an otherworldly landscape, and on clear days the view reaches Ise Bay and Lake Biwa. A new toilet was completed beside the hut in April 2015 — an environmentally considerate design that breaks down waste with micro-organisms and flushes with rainwater. The Fujiwara Sanso Management Committee, which protects the mountain's nature and trails, is made up of more than ten local groups including alpine clubs and ski clubs; each month one of them climbs in turn, carrying up brush cutters and boardwalk timber to maintain the paths. The two routes are the Ogaito trail and the Shohoji trail, and because the Shohoji trail has slippery sections, the Ogaito trail is recommended for the descent.