Changing times in Setagaya's Shoin Jinjamae
There's something alluring about the suburban stops between Sangenjaya and Shimotakaido stations, which has been serviced by the Tokyu Setagaya tramway for the past 110 years. Low-rise buildings and modest platforms tick by as the tram trundles at a leisurely pace westward from where I ...
Never mind the love hotels: Negishi is home to haiku, tea and famous pines
Alighting at one of the JR Yamanote Line's quietest stops, Uguisudani Station, I chat with the stationmaster about its name, which means "Bush-Warbler Valley." Apparently, the area used to have limpid streams and a bucolic setting that attracted the feathered songsters, also known as ...
Akasaka: Sublime and surreal spots in Tokyo's government district
A diplomat friend and I enjoy lunch at the Akasaka Capital Tokyu Hotel, in the governmental hub of Tokyo. As we part, he tips me off that there's a little-known footpath from the hotel, leading uphill to the Hie Shrine, one of Tokyo's most ...
A visit to a preschool leads to lessons in noh and nothingness in Higashi-Gotanda
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 ...
A trip to formal gardens yields finds of other kinds in Mejiro
Early summer, before the rains arrive and the squadrons of mosquitoes hatch, is a blissful time to stroll Tokyo's formal gardens. I launch off in search of one I've heard of in Toshima Ward, near Mejiro Station. The Yamanote Line stop has no connecting trains ...
Pineapple cakes, pirouettes and petals in Aoyama
The one time of year I'm happy to linger in Aoyama Cemetery is when the venerable rows of old cherry trees growing around the gravestones blossom. Before heading there, though, I decide to first get in the mood with a bit of personal spring ...
More than fare trade: backstreet by taxi
A combination of rain showers and tax prep in March signal Tokyo's segue into spring. Cherry blossoms are nearly in bud, but cold, damp days of crunching fiscal figures can put people in dour moods. After wandering a wet backstreet, absorbing little more than precipitation, ...
East of Meiji Shrine, west of Jingu Stadium
It's a brisk February day, with a neoprene blue and cloudless sky. I alight at Harajuku Station and head northeast, threading narrow alleyways filled with cute guys and kawaii gals browsing boutiques. Full disclosure: I'm in search of the creative marketing agency UltraSuperNew. Its upcoming ...
Good fortune in the Tokyo suburbs
The Tokyu Setagaya Line, a sweet little tramline, makes stops between Sangenjaya and Shimotakaido stations. A mere 5.1 kilometers long and one of only two trams left in Tokyo (the other being the Toden Arakawa Line), the Setagaya Line boasts a sleek fleet in ...
It's a small world after all in Komagome
On a crisp and cloudless winter morning, the streets outside Komagome Station in Tokyo's Toshima Ward scintillate with shards of sunlight cutting between sharp shadows. I bundle up against the cold, and set off to seek out an artisan that I heard tell of ...
It's a bright fall morning when I return to Gokokuji Temple, an Important Cultural Property in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward. Exiting Gokokuji Station, it only takes me a few minutes to find the two monks who promised to help me when I visited here earlier: ...
Living on prayer and paper in Otsuka
Hoping to catch the earliest blush of autumnal colors, I seek out the Important Cultural Property of Gokokuji, a prominent temple located in Tokyo's Bunkyo Ward. A satellite map shows it embraced by a forest of trees. I suspect a cemetery might lurk below ...
