Yashirogoya

Mountain lodge at Miharashi (Shimotashiro Crossroads), at the eastern edge of the Ozegahara marsh in Hinoemata Village, Minamiaizu District, Fukushima Prefecture. It traces back to the hut that Tachibana Yashiro built with his own hands in April 1932, and the spring that drew him to the spot, Yashiro-shimizu, still runs in front of the building, where walkers rinse their hands and drink. The lodge sleeps 200 across a main building of wide group-sized Japanese rooms and an annex with many small lockable rooms, so both private and shared rooms are available. The separate men's and women's baths are filled entirely with spring water and look out over the marsh; there are also separate shower rooms, a tearoom facing Ozegahara, a lounge, a shop and a dining room. Dinner is Japanese cooking built around flavour and colour, breakfast is Japanese fare centred on fish and vegetables, and OZE GREEN Wi-Fi reaches the lobby area. At about 1,400m on the Ozegahara marsh, it is roughly three hours on foot from Hatomachi Pass on the Gunma side by way of Yamanohana and Ryugu, and about four hours from Numayama Pass on the Fukushima side by way of Numajiri. From Miharashi it is 90 minutes to Sanjo Falls and 210 minutes to the summit of Hiuchigatake, making the lodge a hub between marsh walking and the climbs of Hiuchigatake and Shibutsu-san.