Okutama: streambed wasabi farms and mountain forest, still inside Tokyo
Choose from 3 available options
Okutama: streambed wasabi farms and mountain forest, still inside Tokyo
- ⏱ Duration: 7 hours
- 👥 Group size: 2–8 guests
- 📍 Stops: Lake Okutama
- 🚌 Meeting point: 8:20 AM — Shinjuku Station, Chuo line platform (you travel with the guide)
Okutama: streambed wasabi farms and mountain forest, still inside Tokyo + Hatonosu Valley gorge walk
- ⏱ Duration: 8.5 hours
- 👥 Group size: 2–8 guests
- 📍 Stops: Lake Okutama · Hatonosu Valley gorge walk
- 🚌 Meeting point: 8:20 AM — Shinjuku Station, Chuo line platform (you travel with the guide)
Okutama: streambed wasabi farms and mountain forest, still inside Tokyo by private Alphard
- ⏱ Duration: 9 hours
- 👥 Group size: 2–6 guests
- 📍 Stops: Lake Okutama · Hatonosu Valley gorge walk
- 🚌 Meeting point: Private Alphard option: pick-up and drop-off at your hotel, door to door.
- Location
- 📍 Tokyo
- Duration
- ⏱ Okutama: streambed wasabi farms and mountain forest, still inside Tokyo: 7 hours · Okutama: streambed wasabi farms and mountain forest, still inside Tokyo + Hatonosu Valley gorge walk: 8.5 hours · Okutama: streambed wasabi farms and mountain forest, still inside Tokyo by private Alphard: 9 hours
- Group size
- 👥 2–8 guests
- Guide language
- 🗣 English
- Tour type
- 👥 Small group
- Getting around
- ⛰ Steep or a long day
About this experience
Two hours from Shinjuku and still not out of Tokyo. Okutama is the city's mountain half: cedar forest, a reservoir, and wasabi terraces built directly into running streambeds — real wasabi only grows in cold moving water, never in a dry field.
Two hours by train from Shinjuku and still not out of Tokyo. Okutama is the city's other half — cedar forest, a reservoir, and wasabi terraces built directly into running streambeds. Real wasabi only grows in cold water that is MOVING; grown in a dry field it becomes a noticeably different plant.
That is also why almost everything sold as "wasabi" in restaurants is dyed horseradish. Here you see how the water is drawn off the stream above, run through each terrace and returned to the flow — and why a bed takes two years before it can be harvested. Then the grating: on sharkskin, in small circles, tasted within the first thirty seconds, because the heat disappears after that. Once you've had it fresh, the supermarket tube stops fooling you.
Lunch is soba and foraged greens at a mountain restaurant, then a walk through cedar forest down to the reservoir. Back in Shinjuku by late afternoon. This is the longest tour on the list — seven hours including the trains — and rated demanding: forest paths, uneven ground, and a long day.
✨ Highlights
- ◆Still inside Tokyo's boundary and already mountain forest
- ◆Wasabi terraces built into running streambeds — not a thing you see elsewhere
- ◆Fresh wasabi grated in front of you, nothing like the tube in restaurants
- ◆Your guide rides the train with you, both ways
✓ What you get
- ✓English-speaking guide
- ✓Wasabi farm visit with fresh-grated tasting
- ✓A mountain lunch
- ✓Local transport from Okutama Station
✕ Not included
- ✕Shinjuku ↔ Okutama train fare
- ✕Anything bought locally
- ✕Alcoholic drinks
🗺 Itinerary
- 📍Meeting point & time8:20 AM — Shinjuku Station, Chuo line platform (you travel with the guide)
- 8:30Train to Okutama, about an hour and three quarters
- 10:20Streambed wasabi terraces, and why the water has to keep moving
- 11:15Grating fresh wasabi on sharkskin, tasted on the spot
- 12:00Mountain lunch: soba and foraged greens
- 13:15A walk through cedar forest to the reservoir
- 14:30Back to Okutama Station and the train to Shinjuku
🚌 Tokyo
8:20 AM — Shinjuku Station, Chuo line platform (you travel with the guide)
🚐 Private Alphard option: pick-up and drop-off at your hotel, door to door.
- · Okutama: streambed wasabi farms and mountain forest, still inside Tokyo — 7 hours
- · Okutama: streambed wasabi farms and mountain forest, still inside Tokyo + Hatonosu Valley gorge walk — 8.5 hours
- · Okutama: streambed wasabi farms and mountain forest, still inside Tokyo by private Alphard — 9 hours
🏁 Where it ends
The tour ends with the last item on the itinerary: Back to Okutama Station and the train to Shinjuku.
🚐 Private Alphard option: the car drops you off at your hotel.
🕒 Cancellation policy
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start time. Later cancellations and no-shows are charged in full. If the tour has to be cancelled because of severe weather or road closures, you get a full refund.
✅ How confirmation works
Booking is NOT instantly confirmed. After you send it we check guide availability for that exact date and time, then reply — usually within 24 hours. If you chose to pay on site, nothing is charged before confirmation; if you paid online and we cannot confirm, you are refunded in full.
💳 Payment
Secure online payment via Stripe: card, Apple Pay, PayPay or Konbini, depending on what is available at checkout. Or pay on the spot when you meet your guide — choose in the booking box.
🥗 Dietary information
Tell us about allergies or dietary needs BEFORE the day. We CANNOT guarantee an allergen-free kitchen. Whether vegetarian, halal or gluten-free can be served depends on the tour and the venue; where we aren't certain, we say we aren't certain.
👤 Who this is for
For anyone who wants Tokyo's mountain half and can manage easy walking. A seven-hour day including the train. Some trail sections are steep and slippery when wet — not wheelchair-accessible, not for limited mobility.
📌 Good to know
- •Closed shoes with grip; the trail is slick in the rainy season
- •In winter the wasabi is still green but the mountain runs five to eight degrees colder than central Tokyo
❓ Frequently asked questions
Is it really still Tokyo?▾
Yes. Okutama is a town within Tokyo Metropolis, the same prefecture as Shibuya. Tokyo is much larger than its city half.
How much walking?▾
About four kilometres split into two sections with breaks. It isn't a climb.
Can I buy fresh wasabi to take home?▾
Yes, sold at the farm. Check your own country's import rules first — many ban fresh produce.
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