Sarugakucho ¡ª which loosely translates as ¡°monkey fun town¡± ¡ª is a hot spot near Daikanyama Station in Shibuya, Tokyo. As a place to hang out, this area sets the bar pretty high: Its backstreets are a zoo of uber-cute boutiques offering exclusive jeans, aromatic drip coffee made with gourmet beans, wee French restaurants and a smattering of traditional goods such as indigo-dyed clothing and souvenir tenugui (cotton towels). It¡¯s all great fun, but please note: the area has been so over-blogged (without permission, or precision, apparently) that many shop owners have posted ¡°No photos¡± notices in their windows ¡ª so ask before you shoot, and don¡¯t make a monkey of yourself.

One place that invites monkeyshines, however, is a store called Motovelo, a wheeler dealer in battery-powered bikes located in building 2 of Tsutaya¡¯s Daikanyama T-Site. Outside the shop, a candy-red colored cross between a stair-climber machine and a scooter has a sign reading ¡°Try Me!¡± placed on it. Mechanic and shop coordinator Yuichi Kawada, 30, pops in a battery and leaps onboard the contraption to demonstrate. Three quick steps and he¡¯s down the block. When he returns, Kawada reassures me that all of Motovelo¡¯s bikes come with five-year guarantees, plus one year of personal insurance. Their line of child seats ¡ª easily detachable and in bright colors ¡ª look like they offer good coverage, too.

I move on, and after resisting several insanely tempting pastry shops and dodging double-wide baby strollers in the crowded backstreets, I reach Kyu Yamate-dori, the main avenue through southwest Sarugakucho. Located here is the Tokyo campus of world-famous cooking school, Le Cordon Bleu, which has a cafe, and which puts fin to la resistance. Over a mocha at Cordon Bleu¡¯s La Boutique, I page through the application materials for the school¡¯s various diplomas. Clearly not your average monkey see, monkey do outfit, the school has offered diplomas in cuisine, pastry and bakery, as well as the all-inclusive ¡°Le Grande Diplome,¡± since 1895.