When I exit the Oedo Subway Line's Daimon Station, I find myself inside an ebullient throng of Chinese tourists headed in the direction of the prominent Jodo-shu (Pure Land Sect) Buddhist Zojoji Temple. The temple's oldest structure, the elegant 1622 red-lacquered Sangedatsumon gate, is a National Important Cultural Property. Its beauty, plus the intriguing dichotomy between temple buildings and Tokyo Tower in the background attracts shutterbugs and tourists from around the world.

Electing a less populated path to explore, I head south through Shiba Daimon, under a scintillant blue sky. One Chinese tourist peels off from her group and follows me, a few paces back. As I start to shoot photos, she peers over my shoulder, judging the composition. I'm a bit frosted, but then she shows me her weathered 35-mm Seagull, and loads it with film. I smile, recalling how carefully I used to parse out those precious 24 shots to a roll. She takes two snaps, waves at me, then dashes off to rejoin her group.

As I walk on, razor-sharp light begins to slice through the canyon of tiled office buildings in the district, spotlighting every bit of dust or smear of exhaust-fan grease on the morning facades of cheap restaurants. A couple of men strike James Dean poses, leaning inside a parking garage, inhaling their midmorning smoking break. I pass a grim park shaded by concrete, where salarymen slouch, spirited away by their cell phones. The area feels more than half-drab.