is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

located in the western portion of

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Prefecture,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, at a distance of roughly

west-northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A ''compass rose'' is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each ...

Tokyo Imperial Palace is the main residence of the Emperor of Japan. It is a large park-like area located in the Chiyoda, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda district of the Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda ward of Tokyo and contains several buildings including the where the Emperor h ...

. , the town had an estimated

population Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...

of 4,949, and a

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

of 22 persons per km². The total area of the town is .

Geography

Okutama is located in the Okutama Mountains of far western Tokyo. It is geographically the largest municipality in Tokyo.

Mount Kumotori stands at the boundary of Tokyo, Saitama, and Yamanashi Prefectures on the island of Honshū, Japan. With an elevation of , its summit is the highest point in Tokyo. It separates the Okutama Mountains and the Okuchichibu Mountains. While it ma ...

, Tokyo's highest peak at 2017 m, divides Okutama from the Okuchichibu region of the neighboring Saitama and

Yamanashi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Yamanashi Prefecture has a population of 787,592 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,465 km2 (1,724 sq mi). Yamanashi Prefecture borders Saitama Prefecture to the n ...

s. Tokyo's northernmost and westernmost points lie in Okutama, as does

Lake Okutama is in Tokyo and Yamanashi Prefectures in Japan. Lying above the Ogōchi Dam, it is also known as the Ogōchi Reservoir. Lake Okutama is an important source of drinking water for Tokyo. Description The lake occupies part of the town of Okutama i ...

, an important source of water for Tokyo, situated above the Ogōchi Dam in the town.

Mountains

*:Mount Kumotori, at 2017 m is the highest mountain in

and the westernmost place of Tokyo. Many plants grow here during the summer, most notably the

tsuga ''Tsuga'' (, from Japanese (), the name of '' Tsuga sieboldii'') is a genus of conifers in the subfamily Abietoideae of Pinaceae, the pine family. The English-language common name "hemlock" arose from a perceived similarity in the smell of it ...

. From the summit, there is a clear view of

Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu, with a summit elevation of . It is the highest mountain in Japan, the second-highest volcano on any Asian island (after Mount Kerinci on the Indonesian island of Sumatra), a ...

and the

Okuchichibu Mountains or the is a mountainous district in the Kantō region and Kōshin'etsu region, Japan. It covers the western part of Tokyo, the western part of Saitama Prefecture, the southwestern part of Gunma Prefecture, the southeastern part of Nagano Prefe ...

. *Mount Mitō *:Because it was forbidden to enter Mount Mitō during the

Edo period The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...

, there are still many forests of enormous

beech Beech (genus ''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to subtropical (accessory forest element) and temperate (as dominant element of Mesophyte, mesophytic forests) Eurasia and North America. There are 14 accepted ...

trees.

and Mount Kumotori can be seen from the summit, and it attracts many visitors especially during autumn. It is one of the Three Mountains of Okutama. *

Mount Odake (Tokyo) ) is a mountain located within the Nishi-Okutama District, in the village of Hinohara and the town of Okutama, Tokyo, in western Tokyo, Japan, and located within Chichibu Tama Kai National Park. The mountain has several hiking routes, and is ...

*:Mount Ōdake is one of the Three Mountains of Okutama. From the summit at 1266 m,

can be seen to the south and Mount Gozen to the west. *Mount Kawanori *:From Mount Kawanori, all mountains in Okutama can be seen. Also, the Hyakuhiro Waterfall is located here. *Mount Gozen *:Mount Gozen is well known for its oddly perfectly triangular shape. Like Mount Mitō, it attracts visitors in the fall.

Rivers

Tama River The is a major river in Yamanashi Prefecture, Yamanashi, Kanagawa Prefecture, Kanagawa and Tokyo Prefectures on Honshū, Japan. It is officially classified as a Class 1 river by the Government of Japan, Japanese government. It is long, an ...

*:The Tama River, with a length of 138 km, is the longest river in the prefecture. It flows through the entire prefecture, and the upstream of the river is located in Okutama. *Hinohara River *:The Hinohara River is a rather short and small river located in the western portion of Tokyo.

Lakes

*Lake Shiromaru *:Lake Shiromaru is a rather infamous dam on the Tama River. It has a height of 30.3 m, a length of 61 m, and a volume of 14,161 m³.

Surrounding municipalities

Saitama Prefecture is a Landlocked country, landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Saitama Prefecture has a population of 7,338,536 (January 1, 2020) and has a geographic area of 3,797 Square kilometre, km2 ( ...

Chichibu is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 61,159 in 26,380 households and a population density of . The total area of the city is . Geography Chichibu is in the westernmost part of Saitama. Unlik ...

Hannō is a city located in Saitama Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 79,123 in 35,440 households and a population density of 410 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geography Hannō is located on the southern b ...

Tokyo Metropolis Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

Akiruno 260px, Akigawa River in the autumn is a city located in the western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 80,177, and a population density of 1100 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . Geo ...

Hinohara is a village located in West Tokyo, the western portion of Tokyo Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 2,101, and a population density of 20 persons per km2. The total area of the village is . It is the only administra ...

* Ōme

* Kosuge *

Uenohara is a city located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. As of 1 February 2023, the city had an estimated population of 23,158 in 9987 households, and a population density of 140 persons per km². The total area of the city is . Geography Uenohara is ...

Tabayama is a List of villages in Japan, village located in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan. , the village had an estimated population of 530, and a population density of 5.79 persons per km2. The total area of the village is . Geography Located in the nort ...

Climate

Okutama has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Okutama is 10.6 °C. The average annual rainfall is 2091 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 22.1 °C, and lowest in January, at around minus 1.1 °C.

Demographics

Per Japanese census data, the population of Okutama peaked around the year 1950 and has declined by more than two-thirds since then.

History

Prehistory

People began settling in Okutama from before the

Jōmon Period In Japanese history, the is the time between , during which Japan was inhabited by the Jōmon people, a diverse hunter-gatherer and early agriculturalist population united by a common culture, which reached a considerable degree of sedentism an ...

and many archaeological sites have been found with ancient pottery. During the

Yayoi period The Yayoi period (弥生時代, ''Yayoi jidai'') (c. 300 BC – 300 AD) is one of the major historical periods of the Japanese archipelago. It is generally defined as the era between the beginning of food production in Japan and the emergence o ...

, rice cultivation began in the flatter lands of present-day Okutama, but most of the area remained covered by forests and only small flat lands existed.Introduction to Okutama

Premodern period

During the

, the area included in present-day Okutama was divided into 16 villages within

Musashi Province was a Provinces of Japan, province of Japan, which today comprises Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, most of Saitama Prefecture and part of Kanagawa Prefecture. It was sometimes called . The province encompassed Kawasaki, Kanagawa, Kawasaki and Yokohama. ...

. In each village, there was one person who served as the mayor, another who served as the leader of a particular group, and another who served as a representative for the farmers. Also, entering Mount Takanosu was forbidden for people of low rank during this time. This was because the people of high rank (government officials and such) hunted with hawks at the mountain, and the officials wanted to keep the hunting grounds for themselves.

Modern period

With the start of the

Meiji period The was an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868, to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonizatio ...

, the area of Okutama became part of Nirayama Prefecture except for Kotaba village, which was merged into

Maebashi Domain 270px, Monument making location of Maebashi Castle, headquarters of Maebashi Domain was a feudal domain under the Tokugawa shogunate of Edo period Japan, located in Kōzuke Province (modern-day Gunma Prefecture), Japan. It was centered on Maeb ...

, which then became part of

Gunma Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuk ...

. While Kotaba village was turned into part of Maebashi city, the Okutama area was divided into three villages of Hikawa, Kori, and Ogouchi with the establishment of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. In 1940, Hikawa was elevated to town status. In 1955, Hikawa town, Ogouchi village and Kori village were united, forming the town of Okutama.

Government

Okutama has a mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

town council of 12 members. Okutama, collectively with the municipalities of Akiruno, Fussa, Hamura, Hinode, Hinohara and Mizuho, contributes two members to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly. In terms of national politics, the city is part of

Tokyo 25th district Tōkyō 25th district is a constituency of the House of Representatives in the Diet of Japan. It is located in the westernmost part of Tokyo prefecture. In of 2012, 321,319 eligible voters were registered in the district giving it the highest vot ...

of the

lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...

of the

Diet of Japan , transcription_name = ''Kokkai'' , legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet , coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg , house_type = Bicameral , houses = , foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...

Economy

Seasonal tourism, forestry and charcoal production are mainstays of the local economy.

Education

Okutama has two public elementary and one public junior high school operated by the town government. * Okutama Junior High School (奥多摩中学校) * Hikawa Elementary School ( 氷川小学校) * Kori Elementary School ( 古里小学校) Okutama JHS was formed by the merger of Hikawa JHS (氷川中学校) and Kori JHS ( 古里中学校) in 2015. The town does not have a high school.

Transportation

Railway

The East Japan Railway Company serves the town. The Ōme Line, which connects the town with

Tachikawa file:Autumn colors in Showa memorial park.jpg, 250px, Showa Memorial Park is a Cities of Japan, city located in the western Tokyo, western portion of the Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 184,383 in 93,428 househ ...

, terminates at Oku-Tama Station.

JR East The is a major passenger railway company in Japan and the largest of the seven Japan Railways Group companies. The company name is officially abbreviated as JR-EAST or JR East in English, and as in Japanese. The company's headquarters are in ...

–

Ōme Line The is a railway line operated by East Japan Railway Company (JR East) in western Tokyo, Japan. It links Tachikawa and the Chūō Line with the town of Okutama. Many Chūō Line trains operate via the Ōme Line to Ōme Station, providing a ...

* - - - -

Bus

The Nishi Tokyo Bus Co. carries passengers to Lake Okutama, the Nippara Limestone Cave, Tabayama village and Kosuge village (both in Yamanashi Prefecture) from Oku-Tama Station.

Highway

National Highways National Highways (NH), formerly Highways England and before that the Highways Agency, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in Eng ...

** ** * Prefectural Roads **Tokyo Prefectural Road 184 Okutama-Akiruno **Tokyo Prefectural Road 204 Nippara Limestone Cave **Tokyo Prefectural Road 205 **Tokyo Prefectural Road 206 Kawano-Kamikawa

Sister city relations

* Chun'an,

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Local attractions

All of the town is located in

Chichibu Tama Kai National Park is a national park in Japan at the intersection of Saitama, Yamanashi, Nagano and Tokyo Prefectures. With eight peaks over 2000 m scattered over 1250 km2, there are numerous hiking trails and ancient shrines. The best known landmarks a ...

. * Lake Okutama *:Lake Okutama plays a major role in providing drinking water for the people of Tokyo. The largest lake in Tokyo, it also has a large dam. * Mount Takanosu *:During the Edo Period, the people of low rank were forbidden to enter Mount Takanosu, because it was a hawk hunting ground for the government and military officials. Now, it is open to hikers, and has an elevation of 1736.6 m. * Tsurunoyu Onsen *:Until the construction of Ogouchi Dam, there was a

spa town A spa town is a resort town based on a mineral spa (a developed mineral spring). Patrons visit spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. Thomas Guidott set up a medical practice in the English town of Bath, Somerset, Ba ...

for Tsurunoyu Onsen. (It is now in the depths of the dam.) Now, there are a few inns that use the hot water from the hot spring for their spas. The hot spring is located about 20 minutes by bus from Oku-Tama Station. * Hyakuhiro Waterfall Kumotori-nanatsuishi2

*:Hyakuhiro Waterfall, with a height of 40 m, is a famous waterfall in the Okutama area. Located in Mount Kawanori, it is part of the Nippara River. * Nippara Cave *:Nippara Cave is the second largest

limestone cave A solutional cave, solution cave, or karst cave is a cave usually formed in a soluble rock like limestone (Calcium carbonate, with chemical formula ''CaCO3''). It is the most frequently occurring type of cave. It can also form in other rocks, inc ...

in the

Kantō region The is a geography, geographical region of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. In a common definition, the region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, Gunma Prefe ...

after the Fujido Cave in Gunma Prefecture, and attracts many visitors from around Japan. *Okuchichibu Mountains *:The Okuchichibu Mountains stretch from Nagano's Nobeyama region to Okutama and a portion of Saitama Prefecture and Yamanashi Prefecture. The highest mountain is Mount Kurogane (Yamanashi Prefecture), at 2232 m, and the lowest is

Mount Azumaya is a stratovolcano in Japan. The peak lies on the border of Nagano Prefecture and Gunma Prefecture. There exist alternative spellings of the mountain's name, like: 吾妻山 and 吾嬬山 which is read as "Agatsuma-yama" (Mount Agatsuma). In th ...

(Saitama Prefecture), at 772 m. * Okutama Onsen *:Okutama Onsen is a hot spring located in the town.

References

External links

*
Okutama Town Official Website
{{Authority control Towns in Tokyo Western Tokyo Okutama, Tokyo