It's a straight shot west of Shinjuku, and amongst the typical shopping, you can find little tiny alleys with 2 table restaurants and lots of unique shops. If you are sick of shopping, there is a great park that has random vendors in a flea market type atmosphere on weekends. There's a lot to see here, but not the same sensory overload as Shibuya, for example.
My girlfriend came with, and we went to eat at some restaurant at the end of an alley. I can dig up the name if anyone is interested. We split carpaccio, some sort of meat-in-lettuce-Korean-style-thing, and Cheese Tofu with honey and cranberrys. Plus Sake and 2 beers and the bill was 4900 yen. Cheap!
Oh, I bought socks, too. If you ever move to Tokyo, lose all the socks with the holes in them first. It will save you some embarrassment. Or at least delay it a few minutes.
A photographer, Matt Melton, has a series called Life On A Japanese Train. The pictures capture part of the train-riding experience. However, you haven't lived until you have taken the last train on a Friday night from Shinjuku to anywhere.