Welcome to Todoroki and La Fée Délice

Let me share a couple photos from around Todoroki Station and the Valley.  

These are from December 2019 and March 2020. It's a sweet neighborhood area. 

And this. Hang out long enough in Tokyo and you will find yourself at a Seijo Ishii Supermarket. I've been to various ones, Ikebukuro, Tokyo Dome LaQua, and beyond. I think for the traveler it's a good place to find the familiar and more. 

But they aren't all the same. Because the only store I could find the Nordqvist Moomins teas is in Todoroki. They have a flavored black tea set, and this fun rooibos tea of four tastes.  Other Seijo Ishii stores may have it, but I've yet to see it outside of Todoroki. Good excuse to go there.

I wanted to continue the good feelings that being in the Todoroki Valley created. So I headed back to Shibuya and La Fée Délice. 

There is a lovely ambiance created here. 

My seat on the right when I came here to celebrate a birthday. The map table was a nice touch.

Inside, the restaurant is warm and inviting. 

Intimate seating while the doors were open to invite in fresh breezes. The airy feeling was nice, and also smart for our health.

 A feeling of rural yet sophisticated France.

I arrived when there were only a couple diners. Normally I would not have a thought about eating around others, but in these times, it was a feeling of reassurance. 

And why did I come back? Besides the lovely service and that my first meal there was really delicious, I wanted to try this. Galette la Sirène. Besides, isn't this a wonderful setting for dinner?

I do love a good smoked salmon. Galette la Sirène was smoked salmon on a galette crêpe with lemon sour cream sauce and salad. Yes it was as lovely to eat as it looked. It was a delightful meal. I hope that La Fée Délice will be there when I return to Tokyo. Because I want to enjoy dining there again. Until then, I think I may have to start playing with cooking crêpes again.

Tranquility in Todoroki

At the bottom of the steps from Todoroki Fudosan Temple that lead into Todoroki gorge, there lies a tranquil pond. 

Where colorful and large koi swim. 

Since I wrote about Fudo-no-Taki waterfalls in another post, I will just share a few photos from my March visit. More about this is here http://blukats.blogspot.com/2020/01/seeing-shrines-in-todoroki-valley.html

Fudo Myo-o was still perched about the waterfalls.

The Inari Daimiyojin Shrine still stands.

 Along with Riken no Hashi, one of the bridges over the Yazawa River.

There is a timeless feeling here. 

Timeless, tranquil and very few people. 

Above the Todoroki Valley

 Something else about Todoroki Fudoson Temple is it has a wonderful view of the Todoroki valley.

There is a railed observation walkway which offers a view of the gorge with the many trees there. 

Including beautiful sakura trees. 

And bright pink ume trees. 

It is a very pleasant view. 

The observation walkway is near the steps that lead down to the gorge. Ready for this? 

 The dirt and board steps transitioned to these stone steps. Still couldn't see the bottom yet. It is a long way down.

However there are things to see along the way. 

Little shrines, like this one with a frog. Frogs have been considered protectors against fires and also for praying for returns, for bringing things back, in Japan.

This shrine was rather interesting, being set into the gorge wall and lined with concrete blocks, giving it an ancient Roman or Greek appearance.

Parts of this shrine appear older, yet the lanterns and bell rope are newer. 

There was even a stand for burning incense. I am not sure who the shrine is for. Perhaps the person who founded Todoroki Fudoson Temple, or if it is for Buddhist Priest Kobo Dashi who explored the valley back when. It does resemble his statue at another shrine in the valley.

 There is also a formidable looking Fudo Myo-o in a shrine up on the side of the valley. 

Someone is definitely tending and visiting this shrine, even though it would be a difficult climb up there. Also if you were to have a god to protect the valley, Fudo Myo-o is a good choice. His name means "immovable". Which I am sure they hope all the rocks are.

 I could finally see the bottom of the steps, which lead to that timeless valley gorge.

And looking back up the lowest part of the steps.

Mitakesan Kofun and Todoroki Fudōson

March 24th was not an easy day. The state of Oregon issued it's "Stay at Home" rule, closing many businesses because of the virus. And my flight back to Oregon was cancelled. I received an email from the booking site saying it was cancelled and that they won't do anything more, the web page with my original booking will be deleted. Thankfully right after this there was a second email saying I was now booked on a JAL flight that same day. I didn't mind that it was out of Hanada International Airport, but there was nothing stating what terminal it would be flying from. Along with my losing the money I paid for a round trip NEX' ticket. But at least I didn't have to try to find another flight or deal with trying to get a refund.

I had already planned to return to a place I enjoyed on my last trip. It was a good day to go for a walk. So I made my way back to Todoroki. This time I walked along Meguro Dori where they had signs with kingfisher and other birds and also fish swimming in water. Very creative.

I was walking this way because I wanted to see 御岳山古墳, Mitakesan Kofun.  

A kofun is a burial mound or tumulus. The Mitakesan Kofun is part of the Noge mounds along the Todoroki Valley. These were created around the fifth century. I mentioned the ones by the valley gorge in my prior post about the area.

The shape of the Mitakesan Kofun is like a scallop shell. The kofun is dotted with various markers for worship. This kofun is only open to the public once a year.

The Mitakesan Kofun has had excavations there occasionally. In 1917 a mirror was found. Various other objects such as iron weapons were discovered in 1950 when they excavated at the rear of the mound. 

It wasn't just the kofun that I wanted to see. The other place I wanted to visit was across the street. Where there was sakura blooming. 

I can not resist sakura. 

As to the place, it is 等々力不動尊, Todoroki Fudōson Temple. 

The front gate or mon is right off of Meguro Dori.

Todoroki Fudoson Temple was founded in the late Heian period, around 1100.

Although the buildings here now are not that old. Often parts of Buddhist temples are rebuilt, like this gate. 

The official name for the temple is Ryugozan Myoo-in (The Hall of the Wisdom King on the Mountain of Resounding Waterfall). The waterfall is Fudo-no-Taki, which flows into the gorge. And it is Fudo Myo-o, also known as Acala, the immovable wisdom king, that is enshrined at Todoroki Fudosan.

There is a chozubashi carved from stone near the front gate.

With an impressive dragon water spout. 

Besides the main shrine there are smaller ones on the grounds.  

There is a large jokoro for worshipers to burn incense. 

It is located in front of the Hondo, where worshipers pray. 

This Hondo has dragons at the end of the carved lintel beam. 

And at the top. There are also different types of temple bells for people to ring. 

Walking to the other side of the temple there is a different style of cleansing water pavilion. My next post will have more photos of what can be seen from over here. Because there is a lot to see in this place that is not like anywhere else in Tokyo.