Jumonji Hut

Log-built hut in the old style at Jumonji Pass (2,035m) on the boundary between Otaki in Chichibu, Saitama, and Kawakami village in Nagano, in the Okuchichibu mountains. It stands in a great colony of rhododendron, and from late May into June pink blossom surrounds the building. The Moukidaira car park (about 60 spaces) on the Nagano side is only about two hours below, and the hut is also the end point of the traverse from the source of the Chikuma River over Kobushigatake, and of the long ridge routes from Tochimoto and Kawamata. The attentive service and cooking of its woman keeper are well known, and gatherings such as the "evening of good sake" round the wood stove and the "rhododendron appreciation meeting" continue year after year. It sleeps about 80, by reservation, and camping is possible. The season runs from the end of April to late November, with the hut also opening over the New Year.