A gentleman I met at an educational conference invites me to tour the backstreets of Higashi-Gotanda, where he has opened a brand new preschool. Exiting A7 of the JR Yamanote Line's eponymous station in the early hours of a cool spring morning, I strike off northeast, along Sakurada-dori, more or less toward the address he provided.
Like much of Tokyo, Gotanda is barely stirring at 9 a.m. Retail shops are still shuttered, children are at school, and most company workers have clocked in. I leave Sakurada-dori, choosing a narrow backstreet that is empty but for swaths of sunlight and sparrows. I realize that something has subconsciously drawn me to this street.
The honeyed aroma of baking bread curls like a beckoning finger in the air, emanating from Bread & Coffee Ikedayama, where I grab a "hand-dripped" coffee and sample a mini cheesecake loaf baked in its own teeny pan.