Okutama in a Day

Three ideas shaped it:

• The lake first thing — buses to the lake run one to three times an hour. Get to the farthest point in the morning, and you need not watch the clock on the way back
• The train for one stop at a time — Okutama to Shiromaru and Hatonosu to Mitake are short hops. Shiromaru to Hatonosu and Mitake to Sawai you walk, along the river
• End at the brewery — after the walking, a drink at Sawanoi-en overlooking the river. Sawai Station is just up the hill, so there is no rush for the train

The five stops, in map order:

The Holiday Rapid Okutama runs only on Saturdays and holidays. On weekdays, take the Chuo Line to Tachikawa and change to the Ome Line (about two hours from Tokyo to Okutama). In mid-October the sun sets just after five, and the valleys darken earlier, so plan to finish the riverside walks by about 16:30.

Chuo Line rapid trains carry Green Cars between Tokyo and Ome (Suica Green fee ¥1,000, payable on top of the Holiday Pass too). Prices reflect JR East’s March 2026 fare revision, as published and searched in October 2026.

Board the Holiday Rapid Okutama on the Chuo Line platforms at Tokyo Station. After Shinjuku and Nakano it turns onto the Ome Line at Tachikawa. Change at Ome for the train to Okutama, and the view outside suddenly turns to mountains.

The terminus, Okutama Station, is the westernmost station in Tokyo, at about 343 m above sea level. It is under two hours from Tokyo Station, yet the air feels quite different.

From stop 2 outside the station, a Nishi Tokyo bus (for Kamosawa-nishi and others) takes 15 minutes. Get off not at the end of the line but at Okutama-ko, and the lake and dam are right in front of you.

• Okutama Water and Green Visitor Center — Tokyo Waterworks’ exhibit hall opposite the bus stop, with films and hands-on displays on the watershed forest and how the dam works (9:30–17:00, closed Wednesdays, free)
• Across the top of the dam — walk the full 353 m along the crest to the far side. Lake on one side, a 149 m drop to the valley on the other
• Viewing tower — on the far side, the tower looks both over the lake and down the valley below the dam, with displays on the dam’s construction on the second floor (10:00–16:00, free)

After crossing and coming back, walk a little way along the shore to the bus stop. On a windless day, the mountains are mirrored perfectly in the water.

The visitor center also has a restaurant (10:00–16:00). Take a later bus back and have an early lunch by the lake, if you like.

Back at Okutama Station, have lunch nearby. Soba shops, diners, cafes and a craft brewery are scattered between the station and the old Ome Kaido road.

After lunch, walk five minutes south of the station to the Hikawa gorge, where the Tama and Nippara rivers meet. Two suspension bridges, the Hikawa Kobashi and the Tokei Bridge, cross high above the water.

One stop, two minutes toward Ome, brings you to Shiromaru. Walk down from the little unstaffed station and over the Kazumakyo Bridge, and below you lies Lake Shiromaru, full of emerald-green water.

• Open days — Saturdays, Sundays and holidays from April to November (daily in the summer holidays), 10:00–16:00
• Mind the stairs — the spiral staircase is long. If your legs are not up to it, the view from the top of the dam is good too

From the dam, follow the riverside path east for about 20 minutes to the Hatonosu gorge. The Tama River foams white between huge boulders, and the Hatonosu Kobashi suspension bridge spans it, giving a view straight down into the gorge.

Climb the steps up from the gorge and you reach Hatonosu Station in about ten minutes. From Shiromaru Station it is about an hour and a half with stops.

Twelve minutes toward Ome from Hatonosu, get off at Mitake. The temple-style station is the gateway to Mount Mitake and Musashi Mitake Shrine.

Cross the road in front of the station and walk downhill, and you are soon on the riverbank. From the Mitake Kobashi footbridge down to Sawai, the Mitake Gorge path runs right beside the water.

• Gyokudo Art Museum — by the Mitake Kobashi, a museum devoted to the painter Kawai Gyokudo. Worth a stop if you have time (March–November 10:00–17:00, closed Mondays, ¥500)
• Autumn colour — the maples along the path usually peak from mid- to late November, and weekends then get busy

The suspension bridge at the end of the path is Fukyo Bridge, the Maple Bridge. On the far bank stands the small temple of Kanzanji. Both are named after Hanshan Temple in Suzhou, China, and the Tang poem “Night Mooring at Maple Bridge”.

At the end of the bridge is Sawanoi-en, the riverside garden of the Ozawa Shuzo brewery. Founded in 1702, Ozawa Shuzo is one of Tokyo’s own sake breweries, known for the Sawanoi brand.

• Tasting bar — 10:30–16:30; closed Mondays (Tuesdays when Monday is a holiday)
• Sawanoi-en — 10:00–17:00; the shop sells local sake and other souvenirs
• To Sawai Station — cross the Ome Kaido road from the garden and walk about five minutes uphill

Rearrange for the day of the week, the season and your legs. The day of the week matters most: the Holiday Rapid and fish ladder visits are weekends and holidays only; Sawanoi and the Gyokudo Art Museum close on Mondays; the visitor center at the lake closes on Wednesdays.

• Comfortable shoes — the gorge paths have rocks, steps and tree roots. Expect about 8 km on foot over the day
• Bears — bears are sometimes sighted in the Okutama hills. Check local town and city notices before you go, and make some noise as you walk, with a bell for example
• Check the trains home early — between Ome and Okutama trains run every 30–40 minutes by day. Miss one and you wait, so plan backwards from your train
• After sake, stay off the riverbank — head straight up to Sawai Station
• Check the times — the times here are one example from the October 2026 Saturday timetable. Weekday and holiday services differ, so check a route planner the day before