After so many yearend parties and as the weather grows wintry in Tokyo, it might seem like madness to go for a walk, but a stroll east of the Sumida River, in Fukagawa, is an ideal way to clear the head. The area offers expansive parks of lingering colored leaves, magnificent art shows and, in some back streets, a jovial and humane spirit that bodes well for the coming year.

It's noon when I surface from the Oedo Line's Monzen-Nakacho Station. Drawn to an alley of izakaya (Japanese pubs) that are festooned in sprays of sunlit plastic New Year's decorations, I stop in front of Yuchan, an establishment that's so buried in memorabilia and decorative chatchkas I can hardly find the entrance.

I loiter just long enough that the owner pops out from among the whatnots, and beckons me inside. I squeeze through the sliding doorway to behold a sweet, eight- seater place.