Kita-dake Kata-no-koya

Mountain hut on the ridge at 3,011m, just north of the summit of Kitadake, Japan's second-highest peak. Morimoto Rokuro opened it in 1957 and the third generation of the family runs it today. The summit is about 50 minutes up and 40 minutes down, making this the natural base for a one-night ascent of Kitadake. The hut looks down on Ohkanbasawa to the east and the Norogawa to the west, and on clear days out to Mt. Fuji. The trailhead is Hirogawara, reached by bus or taxi from Ashiyasu or Narada along a road closed to private cars; from there it is about five and a half hours via Shirane-oike hut and the Kusasuberi route, or about six hours by the Migimata route. The adjoining designated campsite, the highest in the northern Southern Alps, takes 50 tents and needs no reservation. Hut stays are booked by telephone only, and the house speciality is grilled pork shoulder steak.