A preference for neon, packed trains and teeming entertainment districts are common images of Tokyo — particularly so in foreign media outlets. They are images that don’t lie either, as that’s exactly what places like Shinjuku are like: bright, noisy and often busy beyond belief.
Yet at the same time, much of the city simply isn’t like that. Quite the opposite in fact. It’s quieter. Older in every sense of the word. Plus not nearly so busy. And in many ways, it is all the more interesting for it.