March 20th was a beautiful day in Tokyo. I started it with a sakura waffle from MR.waffle. I admit, it is difficult to pass by their shop in Ikebukuro Station without getting a couple waffles. I think in part because it smells so good.
It was a little difficult to make plans, because of the virus. I wanted to avoid crowds and busy train stations, even when wearing a mask. I ended up making my way to a store that is known for carrying items from around the world. NISSIN World Delicatessen in Minato City.
Downstairs were flowers and plants. Upstairs were floors of food and drinks. It was interesting to see items like Rogue Brewery's Dead Guy beer from Oregon. I didn't buy anything but it was good to know where this store is for the future.
Since getting to NISSIN from Ikebukuro meant I needed to change trains along the way, I decided to do that at Korakuen Station. That way I had a chance to have an early dinner.
I really liked the meal I had before at the Moomin Bakery & Cafe, so I decided to enjoy Finnish food again.
To be seated, each diner was told they needed to use the hand sanitizer that was provided. No problem doing that. However this was the only restaurant I went to that was insisting this. It is a good idea. I was seated under this colorful Tove Jansson mural.
Where a Hattifattener was hiding.
In the other direction was Sniff. One of the charms of this place is the large plush Moomin characters that diners can share a table with, if they want to.
My table was small so no sharing. As for what I ordered, I was a little hungry since it was later in the day and I had not eaten lunch. First, colorful bread, soup and blueberry coffee was brought out.
I'm guessing the green is from green tea, which is popular to add to bread.
The seafood broth was creamy.
And this might look like a lot of food, a part of this plate is taken up by the delicious salad.
This was their special blueberry meal. I did my best and finished most of it. The blueberries and cream was delicious, but I couldn't eat all that cream. This was a wonderful Finnish meal.
As for the bread, I did try one slice. This looks black but it was actually dark blue and tasty.
This Moomin Cafe is at Tokyo Dome City with it's amusement rides. At this time they were all closed because of the virus. But there were a few people there dining and shopping and enjoying sights like this sakura tree.
Which isn't a real sakura tree. It was well made and added color for the season.
Walking back to the station I discovered this pond with it's statuary.
It is part of Rekisen Park. Sadly the fountain in the middle was shut off. I am sure it is lovely when the water is flowing.
And back to Ikebukuro Station where I found the dolphins again! I'm curious why dolphins were chosen for this artwork. It is very nice. I was able to find out that it's called "Fortune Ring" and that it's made with ceramic and metal. It was installed in 2008 and the artist is Miyata Ryohei. In case you want to find it, it's located down by the Fukutoshin Line platforms.
Back in my hotel room I showered and hand washed the clothing I had worn that day. This ended up being something I did every day in Tokyo, and have continued it at home, for the days I am out around other people. Which isn't often. The cleaning includes washing my hair, which is something officials don't mention but seems to be a wise thing to do. If I brought anything inside, I would also wipe that down with disinfectant wipes that I brought on my trip. Then time to relax.
Something nice happened that night. Ryux and Seth of Moi dix Mois met up to perform live online! This was my set-up for watching because the sound was better on my iPhone. I turned the sound off on my laptop and used the hotel's internet for it. This pocket Wifi is really great and I used that for my phone so I could have better sound without too much lag.
It's really good that I did that because my laptop died in the middle of this. I never used it much, it just was a really slow computer and heavy. I am really glad that I did get that iPhone last year and I'm getting use to using it while traveling.
As to the performance, it was wonderful! I think all of the fans who had planned on going to the show that night were really grateful that Ryux and Seth did this, and Mana gave his blessing for it. It was so cute that they sang "Happy Birthday" to Mana, just like they would have at the show. I had hoped Mana would make a surprise appearance to dance to the song or run through throwing candy. Still it was super enjoyable to be able to share this live moment during this time. Great to hear and see Ryux play guitar and Seth sing. And they can still be seen because the videos are online at Ryux's Twitcast Channel.
Part One is here: https://twitcasting.tv/ryu59/movie/600642981
Part Two is here: https://twitcasting.tv/ryu59/movie/600647618
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