Day 1 – Sapporo Kokusai Ski Area to Okuteine Hut (Yama-no-Ie) (11km)

Our actual Day 1 route/tracklog: https://ridewithgps.com/trips/13373833

Andy and I met up at Sapporo Station at 6:50am on Saturday morning, keen to be first in line for the bus to Sapporo Kokusai Ski Area. The bus was advertised as leaving at 7:10am, and would take over an hour to get to the ski area. This all went smoothly, apart from one small catch – I opted to wear my ski boots rather than taking spare shoes, and found out upon boarding the bus that you’re not allowed on the bus wearing ski boots. “You may slip over,” was the reasoning. This was not a major issue, as I could remove my inner boots and wear those on the bus.

It was a relatively uneventful bus ride, and by around 9:00am we were gearing up in the ski area parking lot, with skins on right at the bus stop we’d been dropped off at.

From the ski area carpark, it is a 2.7km flat-ish skin to the Okuteine trail. On the way, you’ll pass the historic Helvetia Hutte, still owned and maintained by Hokkaido University. It was one of the first mountain huts built by Hokkaido University. Designed by Swiss architect Max Hinder this hut was built on the 13th of September 1927 – or, at least the original hut was. The old hut was demolished, with the current hut, an exact replica, built in 1985. The hut is locked, so to use it you’ll need to talk to Hokkaido University (see the Okuteine Hut info for contact details). You’ll also likely get some strange looks from passing cars along the way.

Once on the Okuteine Route proper, you’ll want to either follow the summer route along the valley floor all the way to the hut, or if the weather is good, head up to Mt. Tsuge and approach the hut from the top ridge. The Mt. Tsuge ridge has jaw-droppingly good views across the mountains of Jozankei, so this is by far the recommended route. After the 730m mark on the way up Mt. Tsuge the ridge gets very compact and you’ll be picking a cramped line through closely-spaced trees.

This keeps things interesting, however, and makes the broad summit ridge all the more pleasant. The view looks to the west towards the majestic, fortress-like Mt. Tengu (1,144m). The route meanders up and down a few times before finally arriving at the top of the “Utopia Piste” – a clearcut section of forest that descends sharply down to the hut. Enjoy this run – Prince Chichibu did in 1928, according to the official record.

When we arrived at the hut, there was a group of Hokkaido University students from the Wandervogel Club – a university club that manages the hut. They’d already got the coal stove fired up, so the hut was already warm (see my Okuteine Hut page for hints on how to light the coal stove). The hut was as I remembered from last time I stayed there: a mess. The interior of the hut – parts of kerosene lantern and pots and cookers strewn over the tables – instantly tells you the hut is managed by a rag-tag club made up of undergraduates. But not only does this give the hut a homely feel, it speaks to the deep history the hut has with Hokkaido university students.

According to the 2006 booklet produced by Hokkaido University, the hut was built in 1930 partly in response to the mass popularity of skiing in pre-war Japan, and partly due to the Sapporo Railway Department wanting to boost profits.