Restoring Trails & Building Community In the Heart of the Japanese Alps

Few mountain huts are as remote–or as significant to the future of national parks in Japan–as the Kumonodaira Mountain Hut. Nestled in the mountains of Japan’s Chubu Sangaku National Park, the Kumonodaira plateau sits 2,600 m (about 8,500 ft) above sea level. A four-hour drive north from Tokyo will get you in the vicinity, firmly within the northern Japanese Alps. But to actually get into Kumonodaira, you’ll have to hit the trail—and it isn’t a short one.

Accessible only by a demanding 13-hour hike from the nearest trailhead, this isolated plateau rewards you with panoramic alpine views, a trove of alpine flora, and around four miles of sprawling wooden boardwalks that make it easy to navigate. The name Kumonodaira literally translates to “cloud plains.” But by the time most weary hikers make it to the lofty summit, they call it something somehow more celebratory: “heaven.”

In September 2024, I volunteered with the Kumonodaira Trail Club (KTC), a small and dedicated team committed to maintaining the trails around this remote region and fostering a community of passionate hikers. I spent a week with these creative and hardworking people building stone trails, restoring vegetation, laughing over drinks, and discussing the future of national parks in Japan.

In this report I’ll recount my experience working with the KTC, detail what I learned about the challenges facing mountain huts and national parks in Japan, and share some tips on how to reach some of the last undiscovered regions of the northern Japanese Alps.

What to Know about the Kumonodaira Mountain Hut

The Kumonodaira Mountain Hut, our base of operations, offers breathtaking views of the surrounding plateau. But the lodge itself, first built in 1961, is reason enough to make the trek. Rebuilt in 2010 using traditional Japanese carpentry techniques, it offers a respite unlike any other I’ve seen.

Inside, you can rest your feet, flip through a library of books about the area, and enjoy a meal prepared with fresh ingredients—all while listening to the impressive vinyl collection that was helicoptered in at the behest of the owner, Jiro Ito. It’s all in service of a creative and inspiring atmosphere, which Jiro told me is meant to distinguish Kumonodaira from scores of more utilitarian Japanese mountain huts.

Jiro, the mastermind behind the KTC, is the son of Shoichi Ito, the original owner of the mountain hut. Growing up, the younger Ito spent summers at the lodge and winters in Tokyo, a contrast that sparked his wide-ranging passions. These days, he’s just as comfortable talking about the importance of placing stones to create long-lasting mountain paths as the remarkable array of vintage Russian camera lenses he keeps at the hut. This creativity is what inspired Jiro to create the KTC, not only to maintain the trails around the Kumonodaira area, but also to build a community and shake up the relationship between hikers and mountain huts.

Japan’s National Parks and the Importance of Trail Clubs

Founded in 2021, the KTC is relatively new compared to trail programs in the U.S. Its goal is to not only maintain the trails around Kumonodaira but also to educate volunteers about the challenges facing Japan’s national parks.

The national park system in Japan was created in the 1930s, but the country didn’t establish a national park service to manage the new areas. Much of the ownership for these parks is fragmented among private citizens, state governments, and local townships, unlike as it is in counties like the U.S. This means that Japan’s Minisistry of Environment has limited influence over park sustainability, something Jiro has talked about extensively. To put this in perspective, while a singular park like Yellowstone National Park in the US has more than 300 employees, the Japanese Northern Alps only has five park rangers to cover the entire region. The responsibility of maintaining the trails falls on the network of mountain huts and any volunteer groups working with them.

Compounding the problem, helicopter transport—the lifeline for supplying these remote lodges—is becoming increasingly expensive and less available.

The KTC was established to fill the gap left by the lack of limited government resources, the trail club meets multiple times a year to work on maintaining the area around Kumonodaira. Bringing together landscapers, architects, web designers, artists, educators, academics, and people from a broad swath of backgrounds, the trail club supplements experts that should be provided by the government with outsourced and dedicated volunteers from all over Japan.

During my time volunteering, I learned from other volunteers like Ryosuke, a natural historian who explained the area’s geological formation and why erosion was an issue in Kumonodaira. The next day, Daigo, an architect, taught everyone the proper way to roll hemp netting and how this technique can help with vegetation restoration. Ryu, a trail maintenance expert and pioneer of Japanese long-trail walking, shared insights on how Japan can learn from volunteer systems in other countries.

All of these people come together to volunteer their time and expertise to the Kumonodaira area. The result is an explosion of community and creativity that helps fight against both the erosion from climate change and from ever increasing foot traffic.

Working with the Kumonodaira Trail Club

The KTC only meets a few times a year. The remoteness of the Kumonodaira area is one big reason for this–just getting to the area takes an entire day from Tokyo between the hike and the travel time to the trailhead.

There were three main goals for the week. The first was to restore the stone path up to the peak of Mt. Jii, a mountain about a 30 minute hike from the mountain hut. The route had fallen into disrepair and hikers were taking random paths up to the summit, which could both be dangerous and harmful for the local environment.

The second goal was vegetation restoration around Mt. Jii, specifically where water had eroded the edges of the trail. The process involved rolling rocks and leaf litter in long coconut fiber netting that were then stuffed into the eroded overhangs in order to let the local fauna reclaim the land.

We tried to achieve both of these objectives in a way that looked as natural as possible. Some Japanese trails lean heavily on construction methods that, while solid, make it obvious you are hiking on a manmade trail and may also lead to increased erosion of the landscape.

The third goal was arguably the most important: to build an informed community. Each meal, we’d shuffle our seating around so that we could all get to know each other. And we spent an entire day devoted to lectures and discussion about all the issues facing national parks in Japan, instead of maintenance work. This meant that, even when the week was done, we all not only knew each other, but also had reasons to stay in touch via social media.

When to Visit Kumonodaira

The Kumonodaira mountain hut is open from mid-July to mid-October, but the best time to visit is between late summer and early autumn. Outside these months, heavy snowfall and no lodging transforms the area into a completely different world more suitable for experienced mountaineers or backcountry skiers.

If you plan on staying at the lodge, make sure to reserve your spot early as the available beds (60 in total) fill up quickly, especially around holidays and weekends. If you’re using a tent, you do not need to make a reservation with the exception of a few specific dates during the busy periods.

How to Get to the Kumonodaira Mountain Hut From Tokyo

Traveling to one of the three main trailheads towards Kumonodaira can take just about as much effort as the hike. The three main trailheads for Kumonodaira are in three different prefectures–with the Oritate trailhead starting in Toyama, the Shinhotaka Onsen trailhead in Gifu, and the Takase Dam trailhead in Nagano.

Driving is far the most convenient way to reach any of the trailheads, but fortunately Japan offers a large number of mountain transportation options. One clear advantage of using public transportation is that you do not have to return to the exact point you hiked from and can instead descend down a different route creating a hike itinerary with more variety.

If using the Oritate trailhead

When using your own vehicle, make your way to the Arimine Forest Road, which is open between the hours of 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM. The Oritate trailhead has a parking lot that fits around 300 cars and can fill up during busy times of the year, so get there early.

If using public transportation, you can take the Hokuriku bullet train from Tokyo to Toyama City or one of the many night buses. Once at Toyama Station, you can take either a bus or a taxi to the Oritate trailhead.

If using the Shinhotaka Onsen trailhead

You can also drive directly to Shinhotaka Onsen. There are multiple parking lots in Shinhotaka and they fill up quickly during busy times of the year. If one is full, make sure to check out the others.

If using public transportation, take the limited express JR Chuo train from Shinjuku to Matsumoto, Nagano. Once in Matsumoto, you’ll need to take a bus from the station to Hirayu. In Hirayu you’ll need to take one more bus to Shinhotaka. Make sure to check out the onsens in Hirayu if you return this way. You’ll thank me after.

If using the Takase Dam trailhead

When using your own vehicle, you can’t drive directly to the trailhead with this access point, so instead you have to drive to the Nanakura Lodge and either hike or take a taxi the rest of the way. There are only 50 parking spots, so get there early. The hike from the lodge takes about 90 minutes to reach Takase Dam.

If using public transportation, take the limited express JR Chuo train from Shinjuku to Matsumoto, Nagano. Once in Matsumoto, you’ll need to take a taxi to Nanakura Lodge and either hike to Takase Dam from there or take the taxi service from the lodge to the dam.