Kichijoji has shopping covered, literally and figuratively. The roofed malls at this popular stop on the Chuo Line 15 minutes west of Shinjuku sport prices markedly lower than those of central Tokyo, and the lure of its bargains is easily as strong as its famed live jazz and blues scene.
Seven girlfriends with shop browsing in mind asked me to take them there, and I agreed. On the appointed day, rain falls in buckets and it's cold enough to see your breath. I expect my friends to cancel, but armed with umbrellas and outfitted in chic rubber boots they emerge from the mist like the Seven Samurai.
We slosh out from the North Gate of Kichijoji Station toward a warren of tiny postwar shops and eateries huddled in a network of covered alleys. Today, Harmonika Yokocho, as it's known, is damp as the comb of a well-used blues harp.