Goraiko Sanso

Mountain lodge at about 2,780m at the new seventh station on the Omote-Fujinomiya trail up Mount Fuji, in Fujinomiya City, Shizuoka Prefecture. About an hour and a half above the fifth station, roughly a third of the way up, it suits walkers worried about altitude sickness and those who want to see the sunrise without committing to the summit. The building was put up over three years from 2000, with thick cypress posts to carry the snow load and cedar walls that keep the rooms bright. Sleeping places are bunks partitioned by walls and blackout curtains, each with a socket for charging a phone and an LED light, and futon or sleeping bags are provided. Disposable pillow covers and earplugs are free on request, and there is Wi-Fi. The keepers are a farming and forestry family who tend woodland and grow rice and vegetables at the foot of Fuji outside the climbing season, so most of the food served is their own and the posts and walls come from timber they raised. Dinner runs from 16:00 to 19:00 with a choice of curry rice or beef short-rib bowl, and breakfast is a packed bento. The dining room opens 7:00 to 15:00, serving Fujinomiya yakisoba and prawn pilaf among other dishes. Check-in is 14:00 to 18:00 for guests taking dinner and from 14:00 otherwise, with checkout by 7:00.