Dining at Tokyu Hands Cafe Again

Did I mention that the weather was very nice on March 22nd? 

Some parts of Ikebukuro were not crowded. Usually there are more cars, people walking and bicyclists.  

I was headed back over to the other side of Ikebukuro. I stopped at Ekimae Park to admire the sakura trees again. 

I can never get enough of these beautiful trees and flowers. 

I was trying to avoid going through Sunshine 60 Dori. Still, on the side streets there were a lot of people in that area. 

Including these people.

It seems some idols were there broadcasting? I don't know who they were, but it was a little disconcerting to see people crowded together like this. 

My path was to Tokyu Hands by going around the area. Longer but I avoided the throngs of people that were still congregating here. 

I bought a few things in the store and then stopped at the Hands Cafe. There were only a couple people dining there, along with not many people shopping on that floor. Most were wearing masks. So I decided it was time to eat. The view from my seat at the counter facing the windows was interesting. Not too many cars on the Shuto Expressway. 

Reflective modern architecture showed off retro-styled buildings. 

Looking further I could see Mt Fuji. 

My meal arrived. Not the cute character plate of my first visit, but this was also a limited menu item. 

It was a mustard cream pasta with fresh spring cabbage and canola flowers. Very seasonal and tasty. There wasn't a strong mustard flavor. This actually was a nice way to serve pasta and I might try making a similar sauce just to see if I can do it.

Outside of Tokyu Hands it had become even more crowded. Given the current situation with the virus, I don't know why Japan didn't take steps to limit access to these areas. They shut down sakura viewing and amusement parks yet on Sunshine 60 Dori and Takeshita Dori in Harajuku there was no crowd control to limit the number of people there. They could have kept stores open and just rationed the number of people who were allowed to go on the street. So now you can see why I was walking out of my way during this trip.

On a better note, I did find these Calbee grilled chicken chips to be really good. Sadly they weren't restocked while I was there so I only was able to enjoy them one time.