Tokyo is roughly divided into styles and cliques. Neighborhoods delineate and categorize, often in keeping with the cool factor of their inhabitants: Omotesando, Aoyama and Harajuku for fashionistas; Shibuya for party kids; Koenji for earthy music fans; and Shimokitazawa for the vintage-tint rock-star social set.
In the latter of these, things are beginning to change. The ramshackle buildings next to Shimokitazawa Station's North Exit are mostly closed and shuttered in preparation for demolition, part of a long-planned and controversial redevelopment of the lively suburban area with high-rise buildings and a major new road.
The doomed area houses countless bars, many that are decades old and smaller than a walk-in closet. Walking around these, I spy a dim light emanating from one tiny bar pumping out the saccharine-sweet tones of Paul McCartney in concert.
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