Hakubadake Chōjō Shukusha

Hakubadake Chōjō Shukusha (白馬岳頂上宿舎) is a mountain hut located about 800 metres south-west of the summit of Mount Shirouma (白馬岳) in Hakuba Village, Kitaazumi District, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. It sits in a hollow just below the main ridge of the Shirouma range inside Chūbu-Sangaku National Park, and serves as a key staging point for climbers ascending Mount Shirouma and for hikers traversing the Ushiro-Tateyama range. The hut is operated by the Hakuba Village Promotion Public Corporation, a general incorporated foundation linked to Hakuba Village, and is therefore often called the 'village-run Hakuba-dake Chōjō Shukusha'. Although the mountain itself is properly read 'Shirouma-dake', the hut's official name uses the reading 'Hakuba', matching the village and Hakuba Station. The hut offers large communal rooms, private six-tatami rooms, premium and ladies' guest rooms, a self-service buffet dining hall, a shop selling original goods such as bandanas, hand towels, T-shirts and a 'summit commemorative crystal', and a camp site behind the building. It also hosts a summer clinic run by Showa University School of Medicine, a mountain-top temporary post office open from 1 July to 31 August, and resident mountain rescue and green patrol teams. Capacity is 416 people, making it the second-largest hut in the Shirouma range after the much larger Hakuba Sansō nearby. The operating season runs from mid-June to early October, and in recent years both the hut and the camp site have required advance reservations. The hut's history reaches back to 1932, when the Shirouma-dake Rizan Stone Shelter was built. It was rebuilt as a large hut in 1934, expanded with a two-storey Western-style building in 1938, and became the focus of the so-called 'Hakuba mountain hut wars' with the private Hakuba Sansō. After a period of joint management with Hakuba-kan, the hut was rebuilt in 1983 at a cost of about 500 million yen and transferred from direct village management to the Hakuba Village Promotion Public Corporation in 1984. Today it remains a public, village-owned facility rather than a private commercial hut, and it continues to provide accommodation, meals, camping, medical support and safety services for climbers in the Northern Alps.

The history of Hakubadake Chōjō Shukusha begins in 1932 (Shōwa 7), when its predecessor, the Shirouma-dake Rizan Stone Shelter (白馬岳離山石室), was built. In 1934 (Shōwa 9) the stone shelter was remodelled and rebuilt as a mountain hut capable of accommodating several hundred people. In July 1938 (Shōwa 13) a two-storey Western-style building was added, completing the Hakuba-dake Chōjō Shukusha as it was then known. This expansion triggered the so-called First Hakuba Mountain Hut War with Hakuba Sansō, the private hut operated by Hakuba-kan. The two huts stood very close to each other near the summit, and their employees competed for climbers, even soliciting guests at Shinano-Yotsuya Station and at trail junctions. In May 1939 (Shōwa 14) a joint management agreement was concluded between Hakuba Village and Hakuba-kan, under which profits were split 68% to Hakuba-kan and 32% to Hakuba Village. On 29 March 1952 the surrounding area of Mount Shirouma was designated a Special Natural Monument as the 'Shirouma Mountain Range Alpine Plant Belt'. On 31 March 1961 the joint management agreement with Hakuba-kan was dissolved, beginning the Second Hakuba Mountain Hut War. The competition was covered prominently by weekly magazines such as Sunday Mainichi and Shūkan Yomiuri. Hakuba Village posted staff at Shinano-Yotsuya Station to take reservations for the summit hut and sold reservation tickets at the Sarukura trailhead. Hakuba Sansō repeatedly expanded, eventually becoming Japan's largest mountain hut with a capacity that at one point reached 1,500 people. The summit hut increased its capacity to around 1,000 but was considered inferior in overall facilities. Hakuba Village also built the Ōgura-dake Sansō (village-run Hakuba-jiri Sō) next to Hakuba-kan's Hakuba-jiri Hut as a countermeasure, and even attempted to build a cargo ropeway and lift to improve the summit hut, though the plan failed. After the sudden death of Mayor Ōta Shinsuke in 1966, the village's aggressive campaign against Hakuba-kan subsided. From 1967 the Teiitsu Festival, honouring Matsuzawa Teiitsu, the builder of Hakuba Sansō, was held jointly by Hakuba Village and Hakuba-kan. The employees of the two huts later cooperated in cutting steps and maintaining the trails on the Hakuba Great Snow Valley and Small Snow Valley. In 1983 (Shōwa 58) the hut was rebuilt at a total cost of about 500 million yen. In 1984 (Shōwa 59) its management was transferred from direct village operation to the Hakuba Village Promotion Public Corporation, a general incorporated foundation. In 1985 (Shōwa 60) a mountain information office was opened. As of October 2015 the Hakuba Village Promotion Public Corporation operated Hakubadake Chōjō Shukusha along with the village-run Sarukura Sō, Tengu Sō and Happō-ike Sansō, while Hakuba-jiri Sō had suspended operations in 2007 and was later abolished. By around 2000 the combined annual number of overnight guests at the summit hut and Hakuba Sansō had fallen to about 30,000, with the summit hut receiving roughly half the number of Hakuba Sansō. In 2010, overnight guests from July to September numbered 3,651, a 28.5% increase over the previous year. The hut continues to operate as a public mountain lodge, with a summer clinic, a temporary post office, rescue teams and environmental patrols, serving climbers in the Northern Alps.

• 2010

  Overnight guests from July to September numbered 3,651, up 28.5% year on year.

• 2007

  Village-run Hakuba-jiri Sō suspended operations.

• 1985

  Mountain information office opened.

• 1984

  Management transferred from direct village operation to the Hakuba Village Promotion Public Corporation.

• 1983

  Hut rebuilt at a total cost of about 500 million yen.

• 1961

  Joint management agreement with Hakuba-kan dissolved on 31 March, beginning the Second Hakuba Mountain Hut War.

• 1952

  Surrounding area designated a Special Natural Monument as the 'Shirouma Mountain Range Alpine Plant Belt' on 29 March.

• 1939

  Joint management agreement with Hakuba-kan concluded in May; profits split 68% to Hakuba-kan and 32% to Hakuba Village.

• 1938

  Two-storey Western-style building added in July.

• 1934

  Stone shelter remodelled and rebuilt as a mountain hut for several hundred people.

• 1932

  Predecessor Shirouma-dake Rizan Stone Shelter built.

A public, village-run mountain hut offering safe and secure accommodation in the Northern Alps, positioned as a slightly less crowded alternative to the nearby Hakuba Sansō.

• Overnight stay with two meals

  Adult rate 16,000 yen, elementary school student 9,500 yen (as of the Reiwa 8 fee table).

• Room-only stay

  Adult rate 10,000 yen, elementary school student 6,000 yen.

• Private six-tatami room

  Private room available for an additional fee; 20 rooms as of 2015.

• Camp site

  2,000 yen per person, reservation required; 1,000 yen per tent.

• Original souvenirs

  Bandanas, hand towels, T-shirts and a summit commemorative crystal.

1. 1施設のご案内 | 白馬村営山小屋 白馬岳頂上宿舎・天狗山荘・八方池山荘 (一財)白馬村振興公社yamagoya.hakubakousha.com
2. 2白馬岳頂上宿舎 - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org
3. 3Hakubadake Chōjō Shukusha - Wikidatawikidata.org