For many commuters, Yoyogi-Uehara is simply the name of a station at which they change for an express train home. It is also the kind of upmarket address which, if you live there, means you have arrived.

A very sedate collection of shops and restaurants line the street next to the station. There is virtually no neon and certainly no hawkers.

If you take the stairs to the right of the exit and then turn right along this street, you will find Fireking Cafe on the left at the very end. And its interior, service and pricing describe Yoyogi-Uehara to a T.

Large white-framed French-style bay windows face its length along the street. A small topiary of a horse sits near the entrance. Inside, its large spacious interior is filled with leather sofa-chairs arranged squarely around low tables. In total, they would accommodate around 50 people. A central pillar and the odd potted plant break the space here and there, and a long, beautifully finished bar to the right affords seating for another 12.

Waiters in white shirts and floor-length aprons greet you and seat you -- but not before offering to check your coat. Communication between staff and conversation among patrons is earnest but low decibel. Art for sale lines the walls -- a different exhibition every month. A glass of beer costs 900 yen. The mirrors in the restrooms pretty much say it all: Each is circled with small incandescent bulbs, as in a star's dressing room, with the word "Fabulous" above one and "Beautiful" above another.

And yet, there are just as many groovy young patrons in bell-bottoms as there are thirtysomething ones in designer suits. Everyone looked to be either involved in the creative arts or a successful captain of a high-growth industry. Fireking Cafe boasts a wide appeal. So much so, in fact, that it expanded two years after opening in 2000 to incorporate the shop-front next door.

The owner Toshihide Abe and bartender Sadaharu Ebihara go about their business quietly and efficiently. They are both almost painfully shy, but also very sincere once approached. I ordered shochu, but was told there was none. Then, while browsing the menu for another option, Ebihara suddenly suggested that, should I really want to drink shochu, he could pop upstairs, where he lives and bring me a bottle of his own.

While ordering from the food menu, I mentioned to my friend that I felt like eating a salad, but the best looking one featured squid (which I can't eat). Ebihara overheard and said that it would be no problem to replace the ika with chicken. Gotta love this level of flexibility and service. Nothing, it seemed, was too much trouble for the customer.

At one point, my friend -- a regular -- mentioned that she would love to see his dog, which he had so often spoken about to her. And he cordially ran upstairs and fetched it. Fireking Cafe may be very chic, but it is also very sweet.

Fireking Cafe: 1-30-8 Uehara, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; tel. (03) 3469-7911. www.fk-cafe.com Open every day for lunch 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m.; for coffee from 2 p.m.-7 p.m. and for dinner and drinks from 7 p.m.-midnight. 10 percent service charge added to menu prices.

Kana Kana/Tocagee

If you walk straight ahead out of the exit from Yoyogi-Uehara station, past the assortment of fast-food chains and shops, then take a left followed by a quick right, you will be on a long winding road lined with many restaurants and bars. Once again -- no neon, no hawking -- but the smell of char-grilled chicken is enticement enough, as are the understated lighting and neo-modern facades of most places.

One in particular stood out: a lounge-style bar and restaurant called Kana Kana. From the street it looked like an oversize oil painting reminiscent of the Surrealist school, framed in a row of floor to ceiling drapes.

The flavorsome aroma of curry greeted me as I pushed open the door. Two girls sat quietly at one table by the windows. A mama and a female assistant nodded as I approached, but no words were spoken till I asked for a shop card. It was a soothing sort of secret hideaway in which I would have stayed, if I hadn't already been on a mission.

My target was Tocagee -- a personalized rendering in romaji of the Japanese word tokage (lizard). It is the last outpost along this street (known as Uehara Ekimae Shotengai) and the best part of a 10-minute walk from the station. Physically and figuratively it is at the opposite end of the spectrum from Fireking. Tocagee is small and cozy, like any neighborhood bar in Tokyo. But unlike most it is owned by a foreigner (Charlie Fishburn, an engineer from Detroit, who rarely appears on the premises).

"It's very good," he added, in an understated factual way. And it was.

Tocagee is a clubhouse, of sorts, for an enthusiastic group of darts-playing regulars. It features an electronic board, which I'm told is top-of-the-line, and it has spawned a league of its own that holds annual tourneys with teams culled from other bars. The back of the bar, where the machine is located, is set up for friendly competitions, complete with seating for a peanut gallery of mates.

Kazuki Saito, the hands-on manager, is friendly in a nitty-gritty rock 'n' roll way. All he needs is a fist full of darts and a bottle of bourbon to make his customers feel right at home . . .