Why it stays with you
Japan's largest entertainment district, in Shinjuku. The interesting part is where the name came from. It was born in the 23rd year of Showa (1947), named after a plan to bring a kabuki theater here as part of postwar reconstruction. That original aim was never achieved, and theaters, cinemas and places to eat and drink simply multiplied into the district you see now — a Kabukicho with no kabuki in it. If it's your first time in Tokyo, walking one of the bright main streets after dark, once the signs light up, is enough to get the feel of it. Better to drift along the main street and take in the air than to push deep into the back alleys. Adding thirty minutes of it after dinner is about right.