The fellow passengers on the weekend "holiday special express" from Shinjuku to Okutama or Musashi-Itsukaichi -- an hour northwest of Tokyo -- are a strange melange: There are lots of young men -- often much the worse for wear -- going home after a night of heavy drinking; there are young girls heading home after dancing the night away; early risers off to work; and clear-headed kids heading off to school sporting events.

And then there are the hikers.

They are a part of the weekend scenery at any large rail station across Japan: generally middle-aged or older, with small, colorful day packs (often with an irritatingly noisy bell clanging ting-ting-ting with every step to frighten away all those imagined man-eating black bears in the hills) and decked out in just the right gear: colorful waterproof gaiters, heavy boots, hiking pants, multipocketed vests, the right head wear (a baseball cap or floppy all-round sun hat) and collapsible hiking sticks.