羊蹄山避難小屋

Emergency shelter at about 1,670m on Mount Yotei in Abuta District, Hokkaido, part of Shikotsu-Toya National Park, standing on the connecting path between the ninth stations of the Kutchan-Hirafu and Makkari routes. The Ministry of the Environment built it in fiscal 2014 next to the worn-out old hut, and the Yotei-zan Management and Conservation Liaison Council runs it under contract from the ministry. From mid-June to mid-October two keepers, who also serve as nature conservation wardens, are in residence in alternating weeks and radio in scheduled reports of weather, temperature and wind. Every route up Yotei takes close to ten hours there and back and is rated for intermediate and advanced walkers, so day trips are the rule and the hut is meant for emergencies: overnight use is capped at ten people a day and anyone who might stay must contact the council in advance. No water or food is sold, and sleeping bags and blankets are no longer hired out, so bedding must be carried in. The toilet is a bio-toilet using soil treatment (TSS), the first of its kind among Hokkaido's mountain toilets; no paper is provided and used paper must be carried out. Camping is prohibited under the Natural Parks Act, including around the hut, and the site of the demolished old shelter is closed off while its vegetation recovers. The hut can be used in winter when no keeper is present: the front door is shut, so entry is by the outside ladder on the south side to the second floor, where users sign the register and put their fee in the box. Approach times are about 4h25m by the Kutchan route, 4h40m by Makkari, and about 4h15m each by the Kimobetsu and Kyogoku routes.