Picnic areas. Fishing holes. Camp grounds. Onsen. Hiking trails galore. The Okutama area, with all that it has to offer, might be called the playground of Tokyo, and a weekend visit proves that the great outdoors on the capital's doorstep is a crowd-puller.

Only 90 minutes or so from central Tokyo by express train, the destination is Okutama station, at the end of the Ome line.

From bus stop No. 2 across the road from the station, buses head off in the direction of Lake Okutama and as far as Taba, an hour away. They stop at the lake, which was formed in 1957 when Ogochi dam was constructed.