Kagurazaka

What to see

Start at the bottom of the hill by Iidabashi station and climb Kagurazaka-dori, the main slope, where the French bakeries and kanzashi shops face each other across the road. The slope itself only runs a few hundred metres, but almost everything you'd want to see branches off it. Hyogo Yokocho Alley is the first turn to take. Stone paving, black wooden fences, and the discreet frontages of ryotei where geisha culture still operates. Kakurenbo Yokocho, the hide-and-seek alley, is its quieter twin one block over. It's named that because the lanes twist enough to lose someone.

Keep climbing to the top of the hill for Akagi Shrine, where Kengo Kuma rebuilt a 700-year-old shrine in glass and timber in 2010. It's a working shrine with a cafe in the grounds, and it makes a natural turnaround point. Then head down as the light goes. Kagurazaka is one of the few Tokyo neighbourhoods where the best sight is simply the hour when the lanterns switch on, so plan your walk to end in the alleys after dark.

Where to eat and drink

The neighbourhood's French reputation is deserved, and Aux Merveilleux de Fred is the place to test it. It's a chandelier-hung room on the slope selling meringue cakes and cramique brioche. The brioche travels well, so take one to go and eat it while you walk the backstreets. Afternoon tea is the natural slot, but weekend afternoons get busy.

Evenings belong to the alleys. Hyogo Yokocho Alley is lined with ryotei that mostly work by reservation, and a table at one of them is a rare thing in Tokyo. But walking the lane and looking in through the lantern light costs nothing, and that's most of the pleasure anyway. The bistros and wine bars along Kagurazaka-dori and the lanes off it are the realistic dinner, and you won't find French plates and Japanese counters within two minutes of each other anywhere else in the city. The cafe in the grounds of Akagi Shrine does a proper lunch if you're climbing at midday.

Where to stay

Kagurazaka itself is low-rise and residential, so the hotel stock sits at the bottom of the hill around Iidabashi, where the JR Chuo-Sobu line and four subway lines meet. Business hotels near the station get you to Shinjuku and Tokyo Station quickly in either direction, and the walk up the slope for dinner takes five minutes. Rooms further up the hill, closer to Kagurazaka station on the Tozai Line, are calmer and rarer, and they suit couples who want the lantern-lit alleys as their evening default. It's a good base for your second or third Tokyo visit, when transport hubs matter less than what's outside the door.

How to do it in a day

Arrive at Iidabashi mid-morning and climb Kagurazaka-dori to the top of the hill for Akagi Shrine while the grounds are quiet. Lunch at the shrine cafe or back down the slope, then spend the early afternoon in the side alleys, working out how Hyogo Yokocho Alley and Kakurenbo Yokocho connect. Aux Merveilleux de Fred is the afternoon tea stop, and a cramique in hand is good company for the backstreets. As the light fades, be back on the slope. The lanterns come on, the ryotei frontages glow, and Hyogo Yokocho Alley turns into the walk the whole neighbourhood is known for. Have dinner at a bistro or counter off the main slope, then it's a slow descent to Iidabashi for the last train.