Eastern Shinagawa, on the western side of central Tokyo, is fast being transformed from a decaying industrial area of warehouses and rail marshalling yards into a modern business hub. One step beyond the forests of shining new high rises, however, the area's history as an Edo Period post-station town on the old Tokaido highway at the city's edge lives on here and there. Footprints of fishermen, found off the main roads, also tell of the happy days when people there lived close to the sea.

The summer festival of Ebara-jinja Shrine is a good opportunity to discover old Shinagawa. Held on the first weekend of June (May 31-June 1 this year), this reaches its climax on the Sunday, when the mikoshi (portable shrine) and its carriers all plunge into the sea. A tradition started by the local fishermen in 1751 to pray for good catches, the high-spirited mikoshi "procession" through the shallow waters just off the Shinagawa shore is vividly depicted in the 1830s woodblock print by Hasegawa Settan shown here. Nowadays, the tradition continues -- but the wading takes place at Odaiba about 4 km northeast in Tokyo Bay.

In this print, the male face on the roof of the mikoshi represents Susanoo, a mighty god in Japanese myths who sometimes figures as the younger brother of the sun goddess, Amaterasu, while at other times he's the god of the underground, the waters and agriculture. One local legend has it that a fisherman found a carved wooden mask of this god drifting close to the shore and had it enshrined at Ebara-jinja Shrine. Then the priest there heard a voice in a dream saying that the mask should be returned to the sea once a year -- hence the festival celebrated to this day.

To savor the flavor of this historic area, and avoid tangling with the rash of construction sites around JR Shinagawa Station itself, a good walk starts at Kita-Shinagawa Station on the Keihin Kyuko Line. Exiting the small station for local trains, turn left twice to a T-junction, and there turn right into a street that is, in fact, a remnant of the old Tokaido. Though it may at first seem to be dominated by modern condos and convenience stores, this area's narrow back lanes and their mom-and-pop eateries and shops will reward you with many modest buildings of prewar vintage and unassuming, warm-hearted people who welcome visitors as in the old days. On the festival weekend, lilting Shinagawa Byoshi, the traditional festival music, enlivens the whole area, enticing you to join in the hustle and bustle of mikoshi-carrying.

At other times, though, an interesting detour will allow you to trace the old coastline. Taking the first left brings into view many boats moored in a canal below street level. Shop signs advertise boats for fishing and the yakatabune party cruises started by local fishermen whose livelihood disappeared with the reclamation of Tokyo Bay in the 1970s. This spot used to be the estuary of the Meguro River that discharged into Tokyo Bay until 1928, when engineering work changed its course. In the Settan print, however, it corresponds to the dense cluster of tile-roofed houses on the waterfront just above the mikoshi. Alas, the sea we see there has all been filled in.

Walking right along the canal, look for a sign on a house wall, saying in English, "Whale Memorial." A narrow path underneath a cutout of a whale leads to the premises of Kagata-jinja Shrine, where a triangular stone by a tiny pond commemorates an unusual event in 1798. Then, during a fierce storm, a stray whale was spotted in Edo Bay and, after being chased by local people, it was landed on the beach here.

The rare catch caused a sensation among the citizens of Edo, many of whom paid more than four times the normal fare for a boat ride to see the 16-meter-long mammal from the deep. The then shogun, Ienari, being equally inquisitive, had the giant animal pulled to his seaside villa in what is now the Hama Rikyu Garden for a closer look. The carcass was eventually sold for its oil, and the whale's bones were buried under a stone inscribed with an epitaph. The current stone is a Meiji Era replica of the original.

Walking straight ahead, away from the shrine's torii gate, turn left and immediately right to follow the old coastline extending beyond Yamanote-dori ahead. Soon, on your right, a mature ginkgo tree marks the entrance to Yoriki-jinja Shrine, which once stood right by the beach. Notice the center pair of the three pairs of komainu, the guardian dogs at Shinto shrines. Dated 1828, the weather-beaten stone statues have hollows in their heads that were used to burn oil in as guiding lights for fishing boats at night.

The shrine's name, meaning "drift wood," is derived from a legend about Yamatotakeru, a noble hero in Japanese mythology, who was almost shipwrecked in a storm in Sagami Bay south of Tokyo. Princess Ototachibana, his consort, threw herself into the sea to pacify the god of the sea. Days after the storm subsided, pieces of other wrecked boats drifted ashore here, and a shrine was dedicated to Yamatotakeru and his self-sacrificing princess to pray for the repose of their souls.

Proceeding on the same road, turn right just before a bridge on the Meguro River to reach Ebara-jinja Shrine. Numerous stalls will be out during the festival weekend, and locals dressed in yukata will be strolling about. The nearby bridges get jammed on the Sunday of the festival, as spectators watch the mikoshi being placed on a barge at about 10 a.m. for its 30-minute journey to Odaiba. There, another big crowd will have been waiting in the Kaihin Koen since early morning to cheer the boisterous bathing of the mikoshi.

Reportedly founded in 709, Ebara-jinja is one of the most ancient and beautiful shrines in Tokyo. The main hall, dating from 1843, is a gem, with intricate wooden carvings on the walls and under the eaves. There are, too, a pair of golden brass dragons creeping down from the roof, while the komainu dogs on their high pedestals in front of the hall, dating from 1896, testify to the skill and pride of a local mason.

In the garden where mature ginkgo and camphor trees (kusu-no-ki; Cinnamomum camphora) flourish, there is also a large, leaning paulownia (kiri; Paulownia tomentosa), its heart-shaped leaves spreading between the torii and the Shinto dance stage. Kiri wood is treasured for making decorative boxes and chests of drawers, but is now very scarce. Meanwhile, fenced in by the torii, is an early blooming hikanzakura cherry tree, a variety famous for its lovely pink flowers in mid-February. Walking around the shrine to its rear from the riverside, you will find a magnificent ginkgo by a small shrine. Supposedly some 600 years old, this tall, vigorous tree seems to invite the viewer to come back in November to admire its splendid golden foliage.

This excursion now at an end, follow the map to reach Shimbamba Station, or to trace the old Tokaido back to JR Shinagawa Station, browsing in the many interesting shops along the way.