Short hut hike in Kamikochi late April

Hi

My girlfriend and I are travelling japan in a van and our trip ends on the 6th of May, when we have to drop the van in Narita

We would love to do a decent hike before we go, ideally a two day hike, staying in a hut. Wefve already done a litttle east hiking in Nikko but would like to do something a little more challenging (of an intermediate level) and Kamikochi looks like it might offer the right sort of trail.

We would be going on the very first few days of May (i.e about a week from now, or just under)

We are fit and have decent boots, waterproofs and warm clothes, but no snow equipment and we donft have climbing equipment/skills or winter mountain skills. I do have basic general mountain/weather knowledge and we could potentially buy gaiters for small amounts of snow.

Ifve seen the very useful trekking section on the Kamikochi website but as having difficulty working out what state the trails will be in at this time of year - wil they be free of snow, or is there anyway to find out short of going there (it will be quite a detour for us as we are coming down from Hokkaido)?

Also, will the huts be open for visitors yet?

Finally, is there an easy way to book huts if youfre not already staying in a Kamikochi guesthouse? (wefre sleeping in our van and our japanese isnft good enough for over the phone booking)