The Jiyūgaoka neighborhood, for example, can only be described as cute, or, to use the favorite word of every Japanese schoolgirl, kawaii! You step out of the train station and into a village of high-end shopping, French bakeries, and international food. Pedestrians mill at train crossings, waiting to let a small commuter train pass, then stream across. On the other side of the tracks is a small strip of park blocks, a bit like Brooklyn or my hometown of Portland, Oregon. And this is way out in the suburbs.
