Less-trodden TOKYO

TWENTY YEARS AGO, I arrived in Tokyo from England as a fresh-faced graduate with a plan: spend a year, maybe two, working as an English teacher in what I thought must be one of the craziest cities on the planet, and then go home with enough money saved to study some more. I was expecting neon and high-rises, subway trains packed like sardines, and late nights at karaoke—all the glorious clichés. The English school that brought me over had different plans. They stuck me in a flat in a quiet, out-of-the-way neighborhood that I couldn’t find any mention of in my guidebook: Shibamata.

Thanks to Cupid’s arrow, my plans to stay just for a year didn’t pan out either. Happily, I am still in Tokyo. Having spent so long here—and almost 15 years making a living writing about the country—I have no doubt that anyone visiting the Japanese capital ahead of or during this summer’s Olympic Games will have an unforgettable trip regardless of where they stay and explore. But for those who want to experience something other than Shibuya, Ginza, and the rest of the city’s well-beaten path,