The last time I walked in this direction, I was alone, after a day of photography in Jiyugaoka (a nice residential district in Tokyo). For this journey we decided to walk from our place, through the many backstreets, on a ~ 2.5 hour winter afternoon stroll.
The problem with winter in [mainland] Japan, is that sunset is so damn early. 4:29pm today! That means after a lie-in, some TV, and lunch, there's not much daylight left! The flip-side is that the available light is at a low angle, and creates some nice shadows.
Of course, once the sun goes down, it takes any available heat with it. By the time we got to Jiyugaoka, we were frozen! We hopped onto a train (and very much enjoyed the heated seats) and made the journey back home.