Aizankei Onsen Eco Lodge

愛山渓温泉愛山渓倶楽部エコロッジ
Hut fees to be paid
Booking required
Has stove/heating
Has water source
Has full kitchen
Has full bedding
Electricity available
Has toilets
Hutkeeper present
Accessible by bicycle

Posted on Sep 11, 2020
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Posted on Sep 11, 2020

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We've mustered a great deal of audacity to list this gorgeous, oozing-with-mountain-culture lodge in our list of Hokkaido huts. It's not a hut. Open from May till October, it's a watering hole and oasis for local guides, national park track maintenance volunteers, hikers, mountaineers, skiers, and even the odd out-of-place lost tourist. It has an onsen hotspring. You can hang wet gear on the banisters yet still walk around the lodge in the supplied yukata gown. There's a small common-area alcove with a piano and open fire. For anyone who truly loves the mountains, this lodge is home.

Last updated Apr 30, 2022

Location

This gorgeous lodge is located here, on the northwestern flanks of Aibetsu-dake (愛別岳, 2113m) in the northern reaches of the Daisetsuzan Range in central Hokkaido. The lodge is accessed via a paved road from Kamikawa Town.

General notes

According to the lodge’s website, the first time a building was built on the site was in 1926, first named Naoi Onsen (直井温泉). Since the adjacent hut and the lodge itself was built, and has changed management multiple times. Currently, Aizankei Onsen Eco Lodge is managed by Rinyu Kanko – the company that runs the Kurodake Ropeway. Despite all the changes over the years, the atmosphere stays the same – a magnet for mountain people. The ‘eco’ moniker hails from the fact the lodge’s electricity is generated by the lodge’s own hydro electric generator.

It’s most certainly not a hut. It’s a fully serviced lodge with clean Japanese-style guest rooms, onsen hotsprings, a kitchen and self-catering area, a piano, and an open fire. The best part of the lodge is the people. The current (as of 2020) manager was one of the founders of a popular Sapporo mountain gear shop (Paddle Club), and the lodge is a common port of call for mountain guides and track maintenance staff. If you’re staying there, sit in the open-fire common area, strike up conversations with other guests, and play the piano.

The lodge is open from May till October. It’s closed over winter – the 13km approach road is not cleared in winter.

Here’s a video of the place, by Hokkaido Shimbun Newspaper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xSxxRvigMA

Capacity
Sleeps 40 people.
Official contact
Rinyu Kanko (りんゆう観光)
TEL: 01658-9-4525
Email: sounkyo@rinyu.jp
URL: https://www.aizankeionsen.rinyu.co.jp/b
Maintenance
Rinyu Kanko
りんゆう観光
Booking

Booking ahead is highly recommended, especially during the spring skiing season in May, and the peak autumn colors season in September/October. Contact Rinyu Kanko on the email or phone number above (English should be OK, but be prepared to speak slowly and clearly).

Hut Fees

The lodging price differs on the season. Expect 4,000yen per night in the shoulder seasons, and 7,000yen per night in the peak summer season (5,000yen a night if sharing a room). See prices here: https://www.aizankeionsen.rinyu.co.jp/pricelist

Facilities

Heating: The whole lodge is heated, with additional individual kerosene heaters in each room.

Water: There’s potable drinking water at the lodge.

Kitchen/cooking: There’s a basic dining area where guests can self-cater. There’s a microwave, refrigerator, kettles, a few portable table-top gas burners, and an array of plates, cups, and some cutlery/pots/pans. The lodge also offers meals (temporarily suspended in 2020 due to the pandemic).

Bedding: Bedding is provided in the guest rooms. There’s also onsen gowns (yukata) available to wear in the lodge.

Elecricity: The lodge is powered by it’s own hydro-electric generator, run by a nearby river.

Toilets: There are sit-down (Western-style) washlet toilets in the communal bathrooms. There are no en-suite rooms in the lodge – all bathrooms are communal.

Cell reception: If you’re extremely lucky, you might get a very weak Docomo signal. Otherwise, there’s no Internet or mobile reception.

Hutkeeper

There is lodge staff present at the lodge 24hrs a day.

Related Maps

NOTE: For number references to official printed topographical maps, check the main route report ( Daisetsuzan Asahidake to Numa-no-hara Traverse ).

Special Aizankei Onsen Eco Lodge  Hut Notes

There’s also a cheaper (2,500yen per night), more simple dorm-like accommodation right next to the lodge – the Aizankei Onsen Hut.

Aizankei Onsen Eco Lodge Hut Trip reports

Coming soon.

Aizankei Onsen Eco Lodge Hut Photo Gallery

As with each ski touring, cycle touring, and hiking route guide published on hokkaidowilds.org, should you choose to follow the information on this page, do so at your own risk. Prior to setting out check current local weather, conditions, and land/road/track closures. While traveling, obey all public and private land use restrictions and rules, carry proper safety and navigational equipment, and of course, follow leave-no-trace procedures. The information found herein is simply a planning resource to be used as a point of inspiration in conjunction with your own due-diligence. In spite of the fact that this information, associated GPS track (GPX, KML and maps), and all information was prepared under diligent research by the specified contributor and/or contributors, the accuracy of such and judgement of the author is not guaranteed. hokkaidowilds.org, its partners, associates, and contributors are in no way liable for personal injury, damage to personal property, or any other such situation that might happen to individuals following the information contained in this post.

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