Complete Guide for Booking Mountain Huts at Mt. Fuji

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Article update time: March 2023

The tallest mountain house in Mt. Fuji》Oraikokan

There are many ways to climb Mount Fuji. Some people would say that you can go to the top directly at night, which can save you the money you need to spend on mountain huts.
Some people will also choose to spend a little money in a mountain hut in the middle of the Mount Fuji climbing route, rest there for a few hours before setting off to the top of the mountain to watch the sunrise.

There is also a way to work harder and climb to the3450 meters of the Imperial Light Pavilion, and then only slowly ascend in the morningThe highest peak of Mount Fuji at 3,776 metersWatch the sunrise, or wait for the sunrise at the entrance of the Yulaiguang Pavilion, and then set off to visit the top of Mount Fuji.

Although this method requires more physical exertion, it can reach the top of Mount Fuji earlier than others. And it will be much safer than "projectile mountaineering". The most important thing is to reduce the risk of altitude sickness and accidental injury due to lack of sleep and excessive physical exertion.

In addition, you can see different mountain huts at the bottom of the mountain at night in the Yulaiguang Pavilion, and it is easier to see the starry sky. This is why many people are willing to spend a little more effort to stay in the Yulaiguang Pavilion.

Why is it important to book a mountain hut?

Before going into the process of booking the different mountain huts, can you tell why mountain huts are so important to anyone climbing Mt. Fuji?

Although there are people on different discussion boards who say that the rent of mountain huts is not cheap, or that "danwan mountaineering" is more economical, but no matter how the local government keeps calling for it or erecting different advices at the mountaineering entrance, there will always be people every year. A serious accident occurred due to "Mountain Climbing".

Relationship between mountain huts and climbing routes

If you walk from the starting point of the fifth station to the top of the mountain, and then walk back to the fifth station, it will take more than 8 hours of walking distance.
Therefore, mountain huts are very important to climbers, otherwise, a large number of mountain huts would not be set up on every mountaineering route, and then a lot of manpower and material resources would be spent on transporting materials to the top of the mountain every summer mountaineering period.

First of all, mountain huts (yamagoya/やまごや) generally exist in the form of stone houses, wooden houses or iron houses on Mount Fuji. There are different mountain huts operating at different heights on each climbing route. Generally speaking, on the Yoshida line The number of mountain huts will be more, and it will be easier to make reservations, which is why the Yoshida Line is more suitable for beginners as the route choice for climbing Mount Fuji for the first time.

At the same time, because there are many mountain huts at different heights in operation every day, different climbers can decide to reserve a mountain hut at a height according to their physical strength, sleep habits, and expected weather changes, and arrange a mountain for themselves. The best mountain trip ever.

Mountain huts can provide you with a safe place

The mountain hut is not only a good place to shelter from the wind and rain, but more importantly, it allows you to buy some simple food and drinks, and provides a small space for you to take a short break along the way. In addition, it provides basic accommodation, food supplies, and allows you to use the toilets dedicated to residents, etc. It is a very important place for ordinary climbers to replenish water, energy, and sleep.

Of course, some people will say that the rent of the mountain hut and the drinks sold are not cheap, and booking a mountain hut is not worth it for the mountaineering trip.
But as long as you have climbed Mount Fuji once, I believe you will definitely say "fortunately there was a mountain hut at that time, and there was a place for us to rest".

For climbers who pay attention to safety, the mountain hut charges on Mount Fuji are not expensive at all, as long as you know that there are no escalators or elevators on Mount Fuji, and all food, drinks, and fuel are manually moved from the bottom of the mountain to the top of the mountain. Then if you can easily see the sunrise on the top of Mount Fuji, in fact, it will be very worthwhile if you think about it the other way around.

And every time I set off to climb Mount Fuji, I always saw many climbers who didn't make an appointment running around in the wind and rain, asking each mountain hut if there was room for them to enter.
Perhaps because of being so confident in the weather forecast before heading out? So everyone thinks that in summer, Mount Fuji can not rain all day long, and there is no strong wind at all?

But don’t forget that this one is Mount Fuji with very rapid weather changes, and this kind of embarrassment can actually be avoided. As long as you reserve the location of the mountain hut in advance, you can drink tea at night and enjoy it in the mountain hut. That endless starry sky.

Further reading: Mount Fuji mountaineering pre-departure preparations, mountaineering routes, equipment, transportation summary

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Common Results for No Reservation Mountain Cabins

Although in different discussion boards, some people say that they can safely complete the entire trip to climb Mount Fuji without booking a mountain hut, but I believe that many people did not say it because they were injured. Able to successfully complete the trip.

Generally, the common accidents in "bullet mountaineering" are tripping and injury due to lack of sleep. The more serious ones are the slow reaction caused by lack of sleep, the "secondary accident" caused by falling rocks, tripping, or Severe altitude sickness and so on.

Simply put, lack of sleep and excessive physical exertion are very dangerous in the high-altitude and thin-air environment of Mount Fuji. Climbers who use the "bullet mountaineering" method to go down the mountain safely are favored by enough luck. Otherwise, under normal circumstances, they would have to pay medical expenses dozens of times higher than the accommodation fee in the mountain hut before they can go down the mountain completely.

How to make a reservation for a general mountain hut

Since most of the mountain huts on Mt.
Therefore, it is highly recommended to make an appointment and register on the websites of different mountain huts after deciding on the mountaineering itinerary, and then use credit card, Paypal, etc. to pay. Or use a local phone number to make an appointment, and then use domestic money transfers to pay for the required accommodation.

Take the Yoshida Line that many climbers choose as an example. For example, the Toyokan, Taiziguan, Penglaiguan, Baiyunzhuang, Yuanzushi, etc. of the eight mouths can use the website form to make an appointment and pay. It is very convenient for travelers who plan to climb Mount Fuji from overseas.

generally fromstart mid-marchThere will be some mountain huts open for reservations throughout the summer climbing period. However, some mountain huts will postpone the official opening date until late April-early May, so if you have a special preference for certain mountain huts, you need to check them regularly during March-May For the latest situation, it is recommended to reserve the location of the mountain hut before planning other travel itineraries.

Reservation process for Goraikokan

Although the Goraikokan is the highest mountain hut on the Yoshida Mountaineering Line, when booking other mountain huts, you can also refer to the charges, meals, and equipment of the Goraikokan to determine whether different huts are more suitable for your needs.

Important Dates for Open Appointments

According to the experience before the outbreak of the epidemic in the past few years, the Yulaiguang Museum began to accept website reservations at noon on April 1 every year (1/4, 12:00, Japan time), but this year may be the first The relationship between the reopening of the reception of overseas tourists in 2019, so the newly announced open appointment time has been postponed.The official opening will be at 12:00 on May 8, 2023.

If you need more information, you can check it firstGoraikokan's official website.

First steps to start an appointment

The first is to openGoraikokan's official website, and then click "ご约约／ご住车". Generally, when the appointment is officially open, it will be transferred to the registration form. When you choose a day when there are still vacancies for reservation, the days with a red circle in the form are open for appointment. The days with crosses indicate that the room is full, and the black horizontal line means Represents preparation. Then it is to fill in the information of the staying passengers and pay the required fees to complete the first step of making an appointment.

The second step of making a reservation for Goraikokan

After paying the required fee, it is the moment to wait for the confirmation email from the Goraikon Museum. According to past experience, it takes about one month from submitting the reservation list to receiving the confirmation email. Of course, it will be better if the system of Yulaiguang Pavilion can be improved in the future, and it can become instant payment and instant confirmation.
Otherwise, even if you don't receive the confirmation email immediately, don't immediately treat it as a failure of the reservation, and make an appointment for a few more mountain huts instead.

The confirmation process of other mountain huts on the Yoshida Line will be a little different from that of Goraikokan. The confirmation process of some huts will be faster, and some huts will need to call to confirm again, so it is recommended to predict the different situations first. In other cases, implement other backup plans.

The most important step after receiving the confirmation email is to check the reservation date, number of guests, and meal options. After confirming that everything is correct, you can start planning other itineraries, booking hot spring hotels, etc. However, if there is any change in the itinerary, you must contact Yulaiguang Pavilion as soon as possible, otherwise you will be charged 30% – 100% as a handling fee.

Moreover, the location of the Yulaiguang Pavilion can be said to be hard to find. If you can decide the itinerary earlier, it is not only beneficial to yourself, but also beneficial to other climbers who stay in the Yulaiguang Pavilion.

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Accommodation plans and fees of Goraikokan

There are two standard accommodation plans at Goraikokan, one is "Sudomari sudomari" and the other is "1 stay 2 food payment (evening meal, morning meal)".

"Su Bo まり sudomari" only provides a small space where you can sleep and prepare a simple mattress for you. In fact, food, drinks, and use of the toilet are all extra charges.

In addition to the content of "Supo まり sudomari", "1 stay 2 meals pay (evening meal and morning meal)" will also prepare a simple dinner and breakfast for you, but you still need to pay extra to use the restroom.

And this year's accommodation costs are expected to be"Subo まり sudomari" costs ¥11,000 yen,"1 stay, 2 meals paid (evening meal, morning meal)" costs ¥13,500. If you want to consider whether the ¥2,500 difference in the middle is worth paying, it depends on whether you will bring enough food to climb Mount Fuji by yourself, and whether you want to enjoy hot tea and hot meals during the climb.

It is also because the simplest ramen at the Goraikokan costs ¥800, and the portion is not very large, which is only about half of the dinner of the 1-park, 2-food plan. Therefore, if you plan to make an appointment for the "Su Park まり sudomari" plan and then add food, it would be better to directly choose the "1 park 2 food payment (evening food, morning food)" plan.

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More travel information suitable for you:
Have you booked accommodation in Shinjuku, Tokyo, or Lake Kawaguchi other than mountain huts?
You can see the latestHotel reservation recommendation, maybe there are more favorable rooms available for booking!
Other Mount Fuji climbing information: Mt. Fuji Climbing Preparation List / Fuji Hakone Tozan Hot Spring Attraction Transportation and Accommodation List
We also haveFacebook page, like & follow to receive different types of Japan travel information on a regular basis~~

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Meal options at Yulaiguangkan

There is a very special feature of Yulaiguangkan, that is, the bento provided in the accommodation plan cannot be ordered a la carte, nor can it be added. So it cannot be said that if you want to choose "Supo まり sudomari" and add a bento, you can only order ramen with no ingredients.

In addition, there are very limited places for dinner. Even guests who have booked "1 stay, 2 meals (evening meal and morning meal)" need to take turns to use the table. And what if the customers of "Su Bo まり sudomari" are also hungry and want to order food? By the way, the tables seem to be given priority to the residents of "1 stay, 2 meals (evening meal, morning meal)", and the kitchen staff have no spare time to process additional orders, so they have to wait for the "1 stay, 2 meals pay (evening meal)"・North Korean food)" guests can place new orders only after eating.

Therefore, if there is no special reason, the plan of "1 stay, 2 meals (evening and morning meals)" is actually better.
And the taste of the meal is considered to be normal, not very unpalatable. As for the bento for dinner, you can just order one of them. Whether it is hamburger meat, roast chicken or roast fish, there is actually no big difference after long-term mountain climbing and in an alpine environment. Treat breakfast as a snack waiting for the sunrise. Although they are all tasteless, they are still much more delicious than those energy drinks.

The meal arrangement of Yulaiguang Pavilion is based on your arrival time. Basically, you can enjoy dinner as long as you arrive earlier. The first batch of guests will start to enjoy dinner at about 17:00 at the earliest.
In addition, tomorrow's breakfast will be distributed along with the dinner of the day. If you find that it has been left behind, don't forget to ask the staff, otherwise you will miss the opportunity to replace it. Of course, don’t lose it during the meal, because all bento boxes cannot be reissued or added. It can be said that it is one of the most precious items in just a few hours in Yulaiguangkan.

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Summarize

For the first trip to climb Mount Fuji, it is worth staying in the Yulaiguang Pavilion once if the ability permits. Although the whole mountaineering trip is a bit more difficult than staying in a mountain hut at the eighth station, no one will be able to climb Mt. Fuji one more time next year with 100%, so the hard work is worth it. And just like the local Japanese say, "One time to climb らぬ red deer, two times to climb る red deer", people who have not climbed Mount Fuji are idiots, and those who climb Mount Fuji for the second time are idiots.

Unless you're as loving as I am about Mt. Fuji, it's better to just try to get everything off your wish list the first time you climb it.

Finally, in addition to the tourist information on climbing Mt. Fuji, this website also hasTokyo,Lake Kawaguchi,HakoneRecommendations for itineraries in other regions, if your itinerary this time will depart from Tokyo to Mount Fuji, and will pass through Lake Kawaguchi and Hakone, you can check out what places you can refer to!

More Yulaiguangkan information: Yulaiguangkan Official

More tourist information on the Mt. Fuji area

Mt. Fuji Climbing Preparation Overview
Mount Fuji Climbing – Climbing Routes
Mount Fuji Mountaineering – Reservation for Mountain Huts
Mount Fuji Climbing – Transportation
Mount Fuji Climbing – Food Preparation
Mount Fuji Climbing – Equipment and Clothing
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Mt. Fuji, Lake Kawaguchi, and Hakone Tourist Information Overview
Mount Fuji Mountaineering Travel Information Collection
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Tokyo Featured Hotel Accommodation Plan Selection
Tokyo Travel Information Overview

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