Exchanging gifts in winter generates great warmth, but it can also freeze ones finances. So, while I love the glitz of shopping in Tokyo's Ginza district, this year I take my yen to Yanaka Ginza, a backstreet version of its eponym. The idea? To see how many local or handmade gifts I can score on a budget of ¥20,000.
I emerge from the north exit of the Yamanote Line's Nippori Station into a bonechilling November drizzle. Trudging uphill through a virtually deserted little neighborhood, I can hear rain ticking on my umbrella as I walk the boundary line between Arakawa and Taito Wards. "Where are all the people?" I wonder.
Finally at the stairway leading down to Yanaka Ginza, I spy a melee of colorful umbrellas. Before descending, I dip into Neco Action, a shop that's strictly cats. Magnets, clocks, face towels and socks all sport feline themes. I pick up a charmingly illustrated tin button for ¥210, designed by fanciers of outdoor mousers. "We love cats in this neighborhood," shop clerk and cat illustrator Mai Hatano tells me. "You'll see them everywhere."