Escape the City: A Family Adventure in Mitake and Okutama

Most international tourists who visit Tokyo tend to focus on the city center. However, to the west of Shinjuku lies the Tama region and its mountains, valleys, and rivers, and an ancient town atop a mountain peak. We’ll be exploring Mitake and some attractions in neighboring Okutama in the Autumn.

Rather than take the train, I rented a car and brought my family for a 2-day getaway from the bustling city center.

Leave the sprawling city behind and embark on an adventure across Tokyo’s west

Getting to Mitake

Train: 950 Yen / 90 Minutes
To reach JR Mitake Station, you can catch the JR Chuo Line from Shinjuku to Tachikawa and change to the Ome Line. In general, it takes 90 minutes, but there are also rapids and express trains, some of which go straight through Tachikawa from Shinjuku.

Shinjuku Station’s Chuo Line allows for easy travel to West Tokyo

Rental Car: There are several advantages to driving, as the train frequency along the JR Ome Line is not very frequent. It also makes it easy to shuttle bags and kids. Make sure you rent an ETC card to cruise through the toll gates digitally.

With an international driver’s license available as an attachment to your national driver’s license with Japanese translation, many international visitors can rent a car in Japan. Some visitors don’t need this, check before going or ask the rental car agency.

From Shinjuku IC, it takes approximately 90 minutes to drive to the Mitake area via Expressway #4 to Hinode IC. The cost is roughly 1710 yen with an ETC card.

Exploring Mt. Mitake

From Google Earth view, Mt. Mitake is positioned between other mountains and valleys

The top of Mt. Mitake has been a village for hundreds of years for residents and priests and now with several shukubo (traditional temple stays) and youth hostels, for tourists visiting from abroad. It’s a peaceful place that is on the opposite of what everyone considers Tokyo to be, another world in the clouds!

It’s possible to hike from Mitake Station and Mitake Gorge, but most people go to Takimoto Station either by bus or car and take the Mitake Tozan Railway Cable Car from Takimoto Station, which leaves every 15-30 minutes and takes 6 minutes to travel. You can use IC Cards to pay for the ride but note that credit cards cannot be used. From there, it’s a 25-minute hike to Musashi Mitake Shrine at the top of the mountain. There is a visitor center halfway.

Mitake’s Tozan Railway cable car service transports hikers up to the shrine above

A well-maintained path connects the cable car station at the top of the mountain to the shrine, making for a leisurely walk. Additionally, numerous hiking trails lead to remote mountain spots, and navigating these trails can be challenging for beginners without suitable footwear. It can get a little congested on weekends and during holidays, but in general, the paths aren’t very crowded. On our trip, we often had the place to ourselves.

Climbing to get a closer view of the waterfall we found along the way
This mountain is covered in beautiful natural wonders just waiting to be discovered

Musashi Mitake Shrine has an ancient history and is worth the hike up several hundred steps for a morning prayer. Along the way, there are loads of stone lanterns with moss, autumn foliage, a striking contrast to the old wooded buildings.

Hikers from all over pictured climbing the steps to Musashi Mitake Shrine. We stopped by to pray at the front of the shrine before continuing on our trek.
  • Name: MITAKE TOZAN RAILWAY Takimoto Station
  • Address: 2-483 Mitake, Ome, Tokyo Google Maps

Komadori Baiten Restaurant & Souvenir Shop

Hikers and visitors to Mt. Mitake often catch a filling meal, take a break in the restaurants and cafes on the street leading to Musashi Mitake Shrine. Komadori Baiten has been serving up big bowls of hot and cold soba noodles to hungry hikers for years. They sell souvenirs and snacks at the front and in the back are tables with views looking over the trail from the station to town and all the nature between including a sacred 1000-year-old Zelkova tree that hangs over the road up.

The streets we walked through are full of small storefronts selling food and souvenirs

We had a fantastic lunch and a cup of hot coffee before climbing up to Musashi Mitake Shrine and the hiking trails beyond. The friendly staff pointed out places of interest from the window and the food came pretty quick. Everything on the menu looks good but the soba is recommended to power up for the day.

We were served our lunch by a very friendly staff member of the store

Shukubo Komadori Sanso Stay

The family-run shukubo is a Shinto Japanese inn that offers comfortable stays in beautiful Japanese-style rooms. Our room came with a private bath and felt like you were right at home.
The breakfast is Japanese style.

Enjoying some rest and relaxation indoors after a day of fun-filled exploration.
The rooms are traditional Japanese style and are very cozy and quiet.

Staying at a Shukubo comes with two meals, half board. Unlike Buddist Shukubo stays, Shinto Shukubo has meat like fish, duck. No Beef, chicken or pork.

We shared a cheers over our dinner course inside Shukubo Komadori Sanso Stay.
A close-up of what we were served: fresh, grilled fish, pickled vegetables, sliced duck, and more.
Picking up our chopsticks and digging into our meals.
The fish was deliciously tender and moist.

The larger rooms come with a private bath, but all guests can reserve a time for the private bath, which was quite spacious. The Shukubo had a coffee maker, so I sipped a fresh brew on the balcony looking over the trees to the city below. Check-in is from 3pm, but you can leave your bags in the lobby if you arrive early and hike around all day.

A photo of the large private bath that comes with the larger rooms here.
Later, I fixed myself a drink and sat outside to enjoy the mist that settled over the forest.

Around Mitake

Okutama is a 30-min drive or 6 stops on the Ome line from JR Mitake Station.

Hikawa International Trout Fishing Spot

This is a popular spot for visitors who want to get away from the city, focus just on catching fish and the sound of rushing water from the Tama River. I rented a pole and bait and it took me 15 minutes to catch a small trout. I released him back into the river, but you can eat what you catch for 200 yen per fish as shioyaki (salt grilled). It’s open from 9 am to 3 pm and rents out poles and bait.

Setting out with my fishing pole and looking for a prime location to sink my line.
I chose a great spot along the river to set up, and I quickly caught a small trout.



Nippara Limestone Caves

Nippara Limestone Caves is the coolest place to be in summer, literally. It’s cool inside, 1,270 meters of tunnels and a registered natural monument of Tokyo. 900 Yen for entry, usually takes an hour to visit. The main cave is lit with revolving colors, it’s quite an experience to spelunker through a tunnel and encounter a massive limestone cave!

The entrance to the cave is followed by dazzling lights that change color inside. 



TOKYO WASABI

The Wasabi Experience Tour by TOKYO WASABI was an enchanting foodie trip through the woods to a stream that feels so far removed from Tokyo, the city. The guided tour offers a chance to see incredible wasabi terraces, pick one, and eat it fresh straight from the stream. Sitting in the forest and eating lunch in such a secluded spot was a highlight of my trip. The guide features various types of grates, and I learned a great deal about how they can alter the taste and texture.

A photo of us harvesting whole wasabi plants straight from the water.
Later, we ground down the wasabi plants by hand to produce a pulp.



Ozawa Brewery

Ozawa Brewery has been around since 1702, located on the Tama River, and it has a scenic picnic spot for customers to sample the sake and also grab some eats. It’s one of those places to spend an afternoon with friends and family. The brewery tour takes you through the process from polishing to fermentation and bottling – the aged sake was brown and quite unique, similar to whiskey. I sampled several of their sake at a table by the river. Make sure you have a designated driver – my wife was happy to drive the trip home.

The brewery is surrounded by beautiful deciduous trees that shift color in autumn.
Inside the brewery, we could see the drums that hold the sake.

Name: Ozawa Brewery
Address: 2-770 Sawai, Ome, Tokyo Google Maps
Website: www.sawanoi-sake.com/en/


Kamameshi Nakai Restaurant Experience

It’s a popular place for lunch in the Mitake area, many people hike 30 minutes from JR Mitake Station to build up an appetite. The restaurant is surrounded by a stunning garden of trees and moss with a carp pond. Inside, old wooden tables on tatami mats, you’re served sets of Kamameshi Rice Hot Pots with area mushrooms, vegetables, or unagi fresh water eel. Come early, especially on weekends and holidays – it’s worth it!

Tokyo is much bigger than the city center, and it really felt like we were much farther away from Shinjuku than we really were. Anyone who travels out to the Tama region of Tokyo will find wonderful hospitality, an authentic Japanese countryside adventure for the whole family connected to both scenic nature and excellent food.

I featured Mitake and Okutama in this article, but there are many other towns, many other hikes and adventures throughout the Tama region to explore. Have fun out there!

Visited Nov 14-15, 2024, for this article.

Disclaimer: This article was originally written and published on the former TAMASHIMA: Tokyo’s New Luxury website in September 2024. It was partially edited in September 2025 to better align with the design and layout of this website.

Okutama

GET TO KNOW Okutama

EXPLORE THE AREA