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 board at Sangenjaya. I don't know what I'm looking for, exactly, but as the tram pulls in at Shoin-Jinjamae Station, the sight of five multicolored larger-than-life-sized busts of Japanese men perched on a wall seems to be the answer.
Since the plaster busts are just down an alley parallel to the tram tracks, I buzz over, but find that the establishment they adorn, Bar Kurahachi, is only open in the evening.
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