Summertime, and the living's less easy than queasy as Tokyo's temperatures and humidity soar. It's like that as I exit the Hibiya Line's Kodenmacho Station, in Chuo Ward, headed for Jisshi Koen, the area's sole park.

My plan is to walk northeast, to the Bakuro-yokoyama district, where I've heard that building vacancies and low rents have allowed many contemporary-art galleries to move in. I envision a day spent jumping in and out of air-conditioned indie art emporiums.

Things start out differently. I find Jisshi Park to be a block of gray dirt and sand, bordered by a smattering of trees and earthquake-toppled stone lanterns. A 1.7-meter-high bell incarcerated inside a modern concrete belfry looms over all.