Tokyo backstreets, station by station.

What counts as a backstreet here

Not a secret, and not a discovery. Most of these places are known perfectly well by the people who live nearby — they simply sit off the line between the station and the landmark, so visitors walk past the turning. A standing bar under the tracks. A shopping street that kept its shutters. A temple at the bottom of a hill you would otherwise have no reason to descend.

The list is grouped by area. Each station links through to its own guide, where you will find how to reach the place, what time of day it is worth seeing, and — for most stations — our own photographs. Hours and shutters change; where somewhere is small, cash-only or open only after dark, the station page says so.