Tateshina Lodge

2017/06/06

Tateshina Lodge was established in 1973 on a vast site of just under 200,000 square meters in Tateshina, Kitasaku District, Nagano Prefecture, near Lake Megami on the northwestern side of Mt. Tateshina. Located at an altitude of 1,500 meters within Yatsugatake-Chushin Kogen Quasi-National Park, it is an off-campus facility where students can study and play sports amidst a rich natural environment. The lodge is open for six months from May to October. It is primarily used during the summer vacation for training camps by university and affiliated schools clubs and for university seminars. It is also used in the early summer and early autumn for Yochisha (elementary school) highland school programs. As of April 2017, the total building area of the lodge is approximately 6,200 square meters, with an accommodation capacity of about 200 people.

The main buildings constructed at the time of its opening were the Central Building, the Classroom Building, and the Accommodation Buildings (No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3). These were simple, single-story wooden structures clad in steel sheets (galvanized iron), with the exception of a portion of the dining hall in the Central Building, which used a steel frame. Subsequently, a reinforced concrete gymnasium was built in 1978. In 1994, the single-story wooden Accommodation Building No. 3 was rebuilt as a two-story reinforced concrete structure, with a bathhouse wing added in 1996. A gazebo with plumbing was installed in the open space in front of the gymnasium in 1997 and is used for camping and other activities. The facilities deteriorated quickly, not only due to the harsh climate with heavy snowfall and cold temperatures but also because they were left unattended during the closed season. As a result, a large-scale renovation became necessary after more than 30 years. The interior and exterior renovations, carried out over several years starting in 2006 and focusing on Accommodation Buildings No. 1 and No. 2, were well-received by users, as they not only extended the life of the buildings but also improved the indoor environment. However, the original buildings are steadily aging, which remains a future challenge.

The land is leased from the town of Tateshina. Prior to the construction of the lodge facilities, a land lease agreement was signed in 1963, and preliminary development of the grounds began the following year. In the subsequent nine years leading up to the start of the lodge's construction in 1972, various individuals, including then-President Takamura, visited the site for inspections. It appears that a full-scale utilization plan was considered during this period.

There are ski resorts near the lodge, and winter use was anticipated at the time of construction; a drying room for ski equipment was even included in the Central Building. However, it seems the lodge was never actually used in the winter. Although the detailed circumstances are unknown, it is presumed that the decision was made because the local winter environment was harsher than expected, and the facilities and operations were unable to cope.

When Tateshina Lodge first opened, access by either train or car was quite time-consuming. This improved significantly with the opening of the Joshin-etsu Expressway in 1993 and the start of the Nagano Shinkansen (now the Hokuriku Shinkansen) in 1997. This educational environment, surrounded by vast nature, is an extremely valuable asset for Keio Juku, and we hope to make effective use of it.

(Takashi Shigemori, Director, Office of Facilities and Property Management)