June 11th

 

June 11, 2021 Mana shared that creative imagination with a new Moi-même-Moitié video turning model Midori Fukasawa into a holy girl and then a fallen angel. Filmed at KERA SHOP Shinjuku, it was a devilish new presentation of fashion.

Sakura at Hanazono Shinto Shrine in Shinjuku

I started March 23rd with a chocolate taiyaki from 7-Eleven.  

Afterwards I headed to Shinjuku-sanchome Station. Less crowded than Shinjuku Station and it put me very near my first destination. Marui Annex and KERA SHOP. I wanted to see the new Moi-même-Moitié Candelabra Embroidery Shirts, and everything else they might have. The shirts are very nice, but I waited on buying anything because I still did not know what my flight situation was going to be. It was still really nice to be able to see KERA SHOP's window display. Very classy!

Of course I was still wanting to see sakura. And I knew of one place it would be at, that would be easier to get to and hopefully not be crowded. Unlike Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden, which is prime sakura viewing for locals.

In 2018 I visited Hanazono Shinto Shrine. I remembered the sakura trees were just beginning to bloom. Since this time it was later in the month, I headed over to the shrine. 

I went through the main torii this time, guarded by this a-gyo open mouth komainu and child.  

With the un-gyo closed mouth komainu partner, paw on the ball of wisdom. Open mouth represents the letter A which is the beginning of all things, and closed mouth represents Um which is the end of all things. Together they represent the sacred sound "Aum".

As for the shrine, the sando leading to the haiden was beautiful. 

The sakura trees were in full bloom. 

Even with grey skies, it was lovely. 

Of course blue skies would have been wonderful, but then probably a lot more people would be there. Thankfully there weren't too many and most people kept some distance from each other. 

Since I had been here before, I didn't spend much time looking at the shrines. I was here for this view. 

It's really nice how the trees sometimes have little buds springing from their trunks. Being able to see sakura closely is special. 

Looking at this, I can't help but think of in anime, they often will have sakura trees. I do recommend visiting Hanazono Shinto Shrine in Shinjuku when the sakura bloom. 

Shinjuku Lights

 Less rain in the evening but it was cold. So I headed over to Shinjuku to buy something that would keep me warm and to see the Shinjuku Terrace City Illumination. It took some time to find it. There were lights here and there, but not a lot.

So I kept walking. Various companies had decorated for the holidays so I took a few photographs. 

Finally I found it. 

The white lights on the trees went well with the NTT Docomo building. 

There were a number of people enjoying the walkway between the lit trees. 

It was nice, but I had expected a little more since it was Shinjuku. There may have been more illuminations in other places there but I could not find the information online at that time. Since it was cold I decided to call it a night and head back to my hotel.

As for what I bought, it was the new Moi-même-Moitié Candelabra Lace Muffler at KERA SHOP. The muffler did a great job in keeping my neck warm and dry. I love the blue accent ribbon. I liked the blue and white version very much, but the black one goes better with my wardrobe and the M Warm hoodie.

Strange Sightings in Shinjuku

This isn't strange to see. It was the Moi-même-Moitié window display for KERA SHOP in Shinjuku Marui Annex. The day after the concerts I took the Fukutoshin Line to Shinjuku-Sanchome Station. I ended up taking the Fukutoshin Line to most places. Not only was it closest to the Ikebukuro Station entrance that I used, but it often was less crowded than the Yamanote Line. Which is always good. Another thing that was different, I didn't buy anything at KERA SHOP this day. Instead I bought shoes.

While heading up to KERA SHOP I noticed something odd. 

Turned out this was a pop-up shop for Krampus Japan ~Rising~. 

They were selling goods, promoting music and participate in Krampus Fes events in Japan. 

The manager was really nice, even moving the figures so I could get better photos of them. 

These are mostly costumes people wear. But it was fun to see Krampus in Japan. Very unexpected. 

Because the weather was rather bad, I decided to see about lunch there. Looking outside it was nice in one direction. 

 And like this in the other direction. They were even giving tornado warnings for Tokyo. So I decided it would be better to stay inside for the day.

I passed on the Cinnamoroll Cafe and headed upstairs. What to eat? I decided the menu items for Mame-cha looked good.

Except I ended up ordering something else. Their winter special meal. I couldn't pass up a chance to enjoy fried oysters from Hiroshima. 

Mame-cha is an obanzai cuisine restaurant. Obanzai is a traditional style of cooking from Kyoto, a home cooking style. I can say that the food was very good and filling.  

I decided with the weather being bad it would be best just to head back to my hotel and rest. It wasn't all a loss though. On my way back through Shinjuku-Sanchome Station, I picked-up this cute cat cookie. 

And a box of So-be Monaka Hompo sweets. 

I bought a box of Japanese kitty sweets on a previous trip, so I felt the urge to do it again. Cute little guys. That was a big dorayaki in the middle.

 Kitty toes wagashi.

As for the shoes, I bought a new pair of Yosuke ankle belt platforms. I always wanted ankle belt shoes but they are difficult to find in America. They look pretty nice with the new Moi-même-Moitié Candlestick Embroidery OTK Socks.