August 25, 2024 Embark on a journey in search of the Shogun’s wasabi By Sleiman Azizi Welcome to Shinjuku, the world’s busiest train station. With some two million daily commuters, Tokyo’s hyperhub is a never-ending bustle. There is, though, a chance to escape this human crush.
Twelve train lines are in operation here, and through the crowd one can spy the orange JR Chuo Line and its promise of the natural world beyond. Unfamiliar to many it may be, but west of Shinjuku, Tokyo’s Tama region is a nature haven; a pot of green gold at the end of Tokyo’s concrete rainbow. Read on for a guide to Okutama.
The Chuo Line takes you past already famous spots like Inokashira Park and the ever-popular Ghibli Museum. Treats, to be sure, and well worth the trip. It’ll take just under two hours to reach Okutama Station, the westernmost station in the Tama area.
There’s little time to waste, so the train keeps going. From Tachikawa, the line changes to the JR Ome Line, a dip into Japan’s rail history as the line began operations in 1894. The sense of space starts growing on you.
The dots of heritage like Maimaizu Well outside of Hamura Station, whose snail-like structure turned out to be an ingenious method of sourcing water from the tough terrain. The nostalgia here continues at Ome where Ome-juku. The area surrounding the station, features hundreds of 1950s Japanese, American and European film posters.
Time seems still out here. It’s not until you move past Ome that the T.