Hop on a Tokyu Denentoshi Line train at Shibuya Station and you'll find the first five stations are all underground. Then, when you emerge from tunnels and pull into Futakotamagawa Station, from the platform you're treated to views of the Tamagawa River separating Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture, with apartment buildings in Kawasaki City rising on the far bank.
However, though it is right on Tokyo's southern boundary, there's nothing suburban about the Futakotamagawa area, which is renowned for its sophisticated atmosphere.
Indeed, as popular columnist Asato Izumi put it: "Although its sounds like a typical 'dead end' area of Tokyo, it isn't anything like a deserted-looking district in the eastern part of the city. Situated in high-class Setagaya Ward, this town eventually came to embrace an image like that of the rich neighborhoods in the suburbs of Los Angeles. During the holidays, you even see visitors coming all the way out here based on what they've read in trend magazines."