Akadake Kōsen

Akadake Kōsen (赤岳鉱泉) is a mineral spring and mountain lodge (yamagoya) located at an elevation of 2,240 meters in the Yatsugatake mountain range, within Chino City, Nagano Prefecture, Japan. The site is accessible only on foot, serving as a base for climbers heading to Mount Akadake and Mount Iōdake. The spring itself is a chalybeate (iron-containing) spring with a water temperature of about 10°C. The lodge, also named Akadake Kōsen, is a single-inn hot spring facility that has been in operation since 1959, when the spring was opened. It offers both shared and private rooms, as well as tent camping. The indoor bath is available only during the summer season, from late May to late October. The lodge operates year-round, making it the highest-altitude hot spring inn in Japan that operates throughout the year, and the second-highest hot spring in the country after Mikurigaike Onsen. However, it has only an indoor bath and no open-air bath; the highest open-air bath in Japan is at Motosawa Onsen. A signature dish served at dinner is steak. The nearby Gyōja-goya mountain hut is under the same management. The area is designated by Japan Post as a transportation-difficult area, so mail cannot be sent there from outside. The lodge is a well-known stopover in the Yatsugatake climbing route.

Akadake Kōsen opened in 1959 (Shōwa 34) when the mineral spring was developed. It has since operated as a mountain lodge and hot spring facility at 2,240 meters in the Yatsugatake Mountains. The lodge is used as a base for climbing Mount Akadake and Mount Iōdake. It is the second-highest hot spring in Japan after Mikurigaike Onsen, and the highest year-round operating hot spring inn in the country. The indoor bath is open only from late May to late October. The lodge offers shared and private rooms, as well as tent camping. A signature dinner dish is steak. The nearby Gyōja-goya mountain hut is under the same management. The area is designated as a transportation-difficult area by Japan Post, so mail cannot be delivered there from outside. The official website provides access information: from JR Chūō Main Line Chino Station, take a bus for 60 minutes to the Minotoguchi bus stop, then walk 60 minutes to Akadake Kōsen; by car, from Suwa-Minami IC on the Chūō Expressway, drive 35 minutes to Minotoguchi, then walk 60 minutes.

• 1959

  Akadake Kōsen opened when the mineral spring was developed.

High-altitude mountain lodge and hot spring, the highest year-round operating hot spring inn in Japan, catering to climbers in the Yatsugatake range.

• Mountain lodge accommodation (shared and private rooms)

• Tent camping

• Indoor hot spring bath (summer only)

• Steak dinner

1. 1赤岳鉱泉 - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org
2. 2Akadake Kōsen - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Akadake Kōsen official websiteuserweb.alles.or.jp