Last updated Feb 21, 2024
Tucked into the hills to the west of Mt. Teine, and east of Sapporo Kokusai Ski Area (here).
The Okuteine Yama-no-Ie (literally “mountain house”) hut was built in 1930 during the early skiing boom era in Japan by the National Railway Department to facilitate ski touring in and around the Zenibako area. It was built in cooperation with professors at Hokkaido University. The idea was that if the railway department built a dedicated ski touring hut in the hills near Zenibako Station, then that would boost the department’s profits, since skiers would flock to the area by train (see more detailed history on the 3-day traverse route here). The hut is now owned by Hokkaido University, and managed by the Hokkaido University Wandervogel Student Club.
The hut is only available for bookings on weekends (Saturday/Sunday). The hut is not locked however, so can be used for emergencies throughout the winter season. Furthermore, as per the comments on this post (and just to make it abundantly clear), this old, messy, student-maintained hut is certainly not intended or promoted as a tourism facility; it’s a university-run facility that is, on a goodwill basis, open to use by the public.
The hut is not officially open in summer, but its not locked, and club members visit every couple of weeks. There aren’t any hiking trails to any of the summits surrounding the hut that start at the hut.
TEL: 011-706-7456 (Japanese-language only)
URL: https://www.global.hokudai.ac.jp/about/facilities/event-and-seminar-spaces/lodges-and-huts/
In principle, overnight stays must be pre-booked and paid up via the Hokkaido University system. Application to use the hut must be made by email to Hokkaido University (kagai@academic.hokudai.ac.jp) at least a week before intended use. Note also that hut fees can only be paid online via bank transfer from a Japanese bank account (see below). Hut can only be booked for weekends (only Saturday nights).
80yen per person per night (yes, 80yen – that’s not a typo). This payment can only be made via bank transfer from a Japanese bank account. You’ll need to pre-register your details with the university in advance, using their accounting system (access that here). This pre-registration can take a few days, so if you’re even remotely intending to use any of the Hokkaido University huts, we’d recommend you pre-register now (like right now), so your details are in the system.
Heating: Coal stove. The hut is heated with a roaring coal stove, with copious amounts of coal available for use. You may find the coal buckets next to the stove empty – in that case, retrieve more coal from the coal stores under the hut. Access the basement via the steep stairs under a trapdoor, that is behind a door in the kitchen, on your immediate right after you enter the kitchen (you’ll need a headlamp in the basement). The stove can be difficult to get going if you’re not used to lighting a coal stove. Newspaper for starting the fire may or may not be supplied – bring a large stash of your own fire lighters or newspaper just in case. Make sure the stove has been thoroughly cleared of ash inside before lighting. The coal stove can bring a large kettle of water to boil in about 20 minutes.As a courtesy to the next hut users, always replenish the coal buckets before you leave, leaving them full for the next hut users. Also try to empty the stove of ash before you leave.
Water: The hut has running water in the kitchen, flowing 24/7 in winter to avoid freezing the pipes. The water source is a creek near the hut, so please boil before consuming.
Kitchen/cooking: There is a separated kitchen area with a full array of utensils, pots and pans. There are no cooking facilities apart from the coal stove, so you’ll need your own gas/portable cooker if you want to heat things quickly.
Bedding: The hut has a limited number of old mattresses and blankets, but you may want to bring your own sleeping bag and mat. In particular on the weekends it is first in first served on the bedding.
Elecricity: There are solar panels and an inverter which power a couple of LED lights inside the hut, however sunny days can be few and far between, so the batteries may not be charged very full. Better to assume no electricity in the hut.
Toilets: There are basic long-drops in the hut, accessed from the entrance area.
Cell reception: No reception (Docomo, AU, and Softbank tested).
On the weekends, Hokkaido University Wandervogel club members, from the club that manages the hut, are often at the hut from late morning on Saturday to early morning on Sunday. On weekdays there is no manager at the hut but it is unlocked and can be used.
Related Maps
NOTE: For number references to official printed topographical maps, check the main route report ( Okuteine-yama, Yama-no-ie Hut and Tsuge-yama ).
Boots can be worn inside the hut on the ground floor in winter, but the upper two floors are socks only. Please make sure to clean/sweep up after use, and clear the stove of any ash before you leave. Like most huts in Hokkaido, Okuteine Hut is maintained 100% through passionate, volunteer time and effort. Always leave a hut cleaner than you found it.
Okuteine Yama-no-Ie Hut Trip reports
Okuteine Yama-no-Ie 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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Comments | Queries | Reports
Have you visited the Okuteine Yama-no-Ie Hut? Thinking of visiting? Please post any feedback or queries here. Thanks!
6 thoughts on “Okuteine Yama-no-Ie Hut”
Hello,
After much difficulty corresponding back and forth with Fukui from Hokkaido University, it appears that whomever runs this hut does not want foreigners to use it. We originally had a friend who speaks Japanese call the number above to figure out how to book the hut, then had to provide our details over email to kagai@academic.hokudai.ac.jp. First they told us that the hut can only be used (not just reserved) on weekends, which does not include arriving Friday night. Then they told us that we have to pay for the hut via a bank transfer (seems a bit silly for transferring 80 yen) which could only be made from a Japanese bank account. When we asked if this is how tourists normally pay, they said “the hut is not normally intended for tourists”. And finally, after we made several other proposals to pay in cash or via an international wire transfer, they eventually just came right out and said “we are cancelling your reservation since, after checking other sources, the hut is not allowed for use by people who are coming to Japan to sightsee, only for those who reside in Japan and have a Japanese bank account.”
To the folks who run this blog, I’d suggest removing this hut from your advertisements and also checking with the organizations who run the other huts on your site to see if they actually want tourists to come there.
Hi Vivienne, thank you very much for sharing your experience. I’m sorry to hear that it didn’t go smoothly for you. Also, apologies if the post above makes it seem like the university (or us) is promoting the hut for use as a tourism-oriented facility. Apologies also in the sense that the information on HokkaidoWilds.org (volunteer-run non-profit initiative) is best viewed as ‘as-is’ with no guarantee of accuracy – input from folks like yourself is super appreciated.
If I may, I’d argue that it’s not that the university doesn’t want foreigners to use the hut. It’s just that the university’s systems for managing the hut don’t support overseas online application and/or payment, and in principle the only language they support in terms of booking is Japanese (particularly over the phone). This goes for all huts in Hokkaido – you’ve got to assume that whoever manages the hut is absolutely not able to support users or prospective users in any other language than Japanese.
Okuteine-yama-no-ie Hut is an old, messy, student-maintained university hut, run by a university club, with bookings managed by an old-fashioned Japanese university. It’s a university facility that is, out of the goodness of the university’s heart and with an abundance of goodwill, open to use by the general public. Like they said on the phone, their current hut support systems don’t assume the sort of service that overseas visitors might expect from other ‘tourism-first’ prefectural or private facilities. It makes sense to me that they might have been confused by the idea of ‘how tourists usually pay‘. It’s not a tourism facility like other huts in Hokkaido (nor was it intended to be), such as the huts in national parks – it’s a university facility that happens to be available for use by the public.
You’ll see in our original description that the hut is indeed only available for use on the weekends (Saturday and Sunday). That said, I’ve now updated the post to make it clear that you do need to have have a Japanese bank account to pay the fees. In-person payment in cash is indeed no longer possible unfortunately.
So just to reiterate, all of the huts run by Hokkaido University are first and foremost university huts. They are, however, available to the general public (tourists included). The only catch is that you’ll need someone with a Japanese bank account to pay the fees for you.
Terribly sorry again for the confusion, and I hope you manage to get out for a hut trip while you’re here!
I’m a member of HUWV managing the hut.
Thank you for using it comfortably.
The stove has repaired. Therefore, you can use it and sleep warmly.
We hope you’ll visit us again!
Hi there HUWV! You guys are amazing! Thank you so much for your great work to maintain the hut. I think it’s one of the best huts in Hokkaido.
We were there two nights ago and the stove was broken! There were two girls from the university there clearing snow but they couldn’t seem to fix it. Prepare for a cold night if you’re going anytime soon.
Oh no! That’s not ideal at all. I hope you weren’t too cold!