Every once in a while you come across a little corner of Japan, tucked neatly away where you might never have noticed it before. One such pleasant reprieve from the gray maze of central Tokyo is a small road called “Shiki no Michi,” or “Avenue of the Four Seasons.”

If you work or play in Shinjuku’s east-side “San-chome” neighborhood, you may have come across it. It begins just next to a Mister Donuts shop on Yasukuni Blvd., and cuts across an otherwise not-so-attractive neighborhood to come out just north and east–suitably enough for us expats, right next to a Subway sandwich shop. But the street itself is the attraction, one of those places where you suddenly lose the city and for a short time, you can imagine you’re out in the countryside somewhere. Well, almost. The street is just at the periphery of Shinjuku’s famed red-light district “Kabuki-cho,” and you can spy a few love hotels and other establishments through the few points where the foliage thins out.

It’s great for my co-workers and me, as it lies on the path between JR Shinjuku Station and our college–it even cuts down on our walking time between the two. If you’re ever in the neighborhood, give it a walk.