The Okuchichibu Mountains, which border Tokyo, Saitama, Yamanashi and Nagano Prefectures, became popular for mass mountaineering in the mid-Taisho period. From 1924 to 1930, Yamanashi Prefecture intensively designed and constructed “primitive” mountain huts, meaning that they were modeled after loggers’ huts, not commercial establishments, to be suitable for the mountainous landscape, which consisted of primitive forests. Although this design eventually led to their deterioration, the towns and mountaineering associations at the foot of the mountains cooperated to manage the huts. I found two huts that still had the typical appearance and floor plan of that period.
