Yaridaira Goya

A hut at about 2,000m on the flat ground called Yaridaira, a staging point on the Hidasawa route — the shortest way up Yarigatake. You reach it from Shinhotaka Onsen by the Migimata forest road and trail, fording the Takidani stream; the rock walls of Takidani, falling from Kitahotakadake, rise straight ahead. The walk in is about 5.7km shorter than from Kamikochi, and from here you can also make a circuit of the 3,000m peaks — Minamidake, Nakadake, Obamidake and Yarigatake. It is a convenient approach to Okumaruyama (2,440m), well known among mountain photographers. At around 2,000m it is well placed for acclimatising and saving your legs for the next day's climb, and unlike the Nagano side in high summer it never gets truly crowded: water is free and there is room to spare in the rooms and on the tent ground. The season runs 10 July to 12 October, by reservation only; the campsite of about sixty pitches needs no booking.