Hokkaido
Backcountry Huts

Hokkaido
Backcountry Huts

Hokkaido Mountain Huts: A list

A growing list of English information about mountain huts in Hokkaido for ski touring, hiking, and bikepacking.

Hokkaido is unique within Japan when it comes to mountain huts. Whereas huts in most other regions in Japan are privately owned and operated, huts in Hokkaido are usually owned by local mountaineering clubs and managed by either local councils or universities. As such, they’re generally rustic, basic, and cheap – if not free – and almost all do not have hut keepers. They exist first and foremost for the local community and/or the club members that lovingly maintain and use the huts, so the public is not entitled to their use; they are granted access to these gorgeous oases of shelter only due to the great goodwill of those who own and run the huts.

NOTE: This list is a work in progress. For a full list of Hokkaido huts (in Japanese), take a look here. Leon Roode also has some information on some huts in the Daisetsuzan National Park here. BackcountryHuts.net also has a couple extra huts listed in Hokkaido here.

Important

Most huts in Hokkaido are maintained 100% through volunteer passion and effort.

If staying at any of these huts, give the place a sweep out after use. Always pack out your own trash. If you use wood stacked inside the hut, replace what you use from the woodstack outside. Make sure to sign the guestbook (even if only in English); funding decisions by the authorities are made based on usage.

Always leave a hut cleaner than you found it.

Important

Most huts in Hokkaido are maintained 100% through volunteer passion and effort.

If staying at any of these huts, give the place a sweep out after use. Always pack out your own trash. If you use wood stacked inside the hut, replace what you use from the woodstack outside. Make sure to sign the guestbook (even if only in English); funding decisions by the authorities are made based on usage.

Always leave a hut cleaner than you found it.

Explore the Hokkaido Wilds

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Hokkaido Wilds Foundation

We’ve got affiliate links on HokkaidoWilds.org to help fund the Hokkaido Wilds foundation.

The Foundation gets a small commission on sales from affiliate links, but we only link to stuff we think is worth checking out for people keen on the outdoors in Hokkaido and Japan.

The Hokkaido Wilds Foundation is a fund where 100% of funds are donated to Hokkaido volunteer groups involved in sustainable, safe, and responsible access to the Hokkaido outdoors.

Learn more here

ADVANCED FILTERS

Filter by location

About Filters

REGION: The general mountain/geographical region the route is in.

BEST MONTH(S): Time of year a route is suited to visiting. Some pop all season, some are more limited.

DIFFICULTY: How strenuous a route is, and how technical it is. Full details here.

FREERIDE/SKITOUR: Very subjective, but is a route more-of-a-walk-than-a-ski or the other way around? Some routes are all about the screaming downhill (freeride), some are more about the hunt for a peak or nice forest (ski-tour). Some are in between. 

MAIN ASPECT: Which cardinal direction the primary consequential slope is facing, that you might encounter on the route. More details here.

ROUTE TAGS: An eclectic picking of other categories that routes might belong to.

SEARCH BY LOCATION: You can find routes near your current location – just click on the crosshairs (). You may need to give permission to HokkaidoWilds.org to know your GPS location (don’t worry, we won’t track you). Or, type in a destination, such as Niseko or Sapporo or Asahikawa etc.

Please let us know how we can make it easier to narrow down your search. Contact Rob at rob@hokkaidowilds.org with your suggestions.

Hokkaido Backcountry Huts Difficulty Rating

Category

Grade

Points

Strenuousness

Vertical Gain

D

25

Time ascending

D

0

Technicality

Altitude

D

0

Hazards

D

Navigation

D

Totals

25/100

GRADES range from A (very difficult) to D (easy). Hazards include exposure to avalanche and fall risk. More details here. Rating rubric adapted from Hokkaido Yukiyama Guidebook 北海道雪山ガイド.