Moomin Blueberry Coffee and Moi dix Mois Live Streaming

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

A Meal with Moomins

The station I arrived at to walk to Koishikawa Korakuen was Korakuen Station. Which is the station for the amusements and more at Tokyo Dome City.

Along with a lot of stores including a market which had melons from Ibaraki.

And lovely flowers for sale.

Since it was dinner time, I decided to see what would look good to eat at the many restaurants there. I wanted to eat something that wasn't Japanese. I saw this and knew this might be just what I was looking for.

I will say there are a few Moomins in the Moomin Bakery and Cafe. Of course.

Cute decor but did they have food worthy of these Finnish cultural icons?

I was surprised at all the items on the menu. From cute sweet drinks to fun desserts including Moomin pancakes, there was a lot to chose from. The emphasis on Finnish food was nice.

I passed on the sweet and went with a Lapin Kulta beer.

Along with the chef's choice fish plate.

Which had a great variety of items on it, including battered crab claw and various Finnish spreds on the bread. This was really good!

The other part of the location is their bakery.

Which has a nice homey feel to it's decor.

I just had to get a couple pastries. Like this fruit filled Hattifattener.

And this cream filled Moomintroll.

I have to admit, I was a little surprised at the quality of the food at the Moomin Bakery and Cafe. Theme restaurants tend to focus on the fun part of making dishes that fit the venue. I would recommend this place not just as a theme restaurant but for anyone wanting to try Finnish food. It was an enjoyable meal at the end of a nice day.

To Tokyo Dome and Beyond

Trying to remember how many trains I took this day. There was the Oedo Line from Daimon station to Aoyama-Itchome Station where I caught the Hanzomon Line to Kudanshita Station to get to Budokan. Then I got on the Shinjuku Line at Kudanshita Station to Jimbocho Station where I took the Mita Line to Suidobashi Station. So far four trains and my next stop was Tokyo Dome City.

A very wet and rainy Tokyo Dome City that is usually teeming with people and kids. So in a way it might have been a good choice for this day.

While I have been at Tokyo Dome before (more on that later) it was my first time walking around the shops and amusements outside of Tokyo Dome. One of my reasons for coming here was to visit the Jump Shop.

Because sometimes one has to be a little dorky. This Jump shop is much bigger than the one at Tokyo Station and it has a couple full size statues of their characters. Luffy from One Piece was in the window, inside was Naruto (I think) and this natural perm hair guy. Gintoki from Gintama. While you can't take photos inside the store you can take photos of the statues so I...was a dork and took a couple.

I bought a few things and then went looking for food. A lot of shops are geared towards kids there along with the food court.

Although bigger people can find things to eat. Like ramen. Ramen Setagaya that is.

I couldn't find much information about this ramen shop online, perhaps because there are so many ramen places in Tokyo now? I went for the Narutama Ramen のり玉ラーメン which came with extra nori sheets to put in the ramen as you eat it.

Despite there only being one review on Yelp Japan for this place, this wasn't a bad bowl. The noodles held up and the broth was not too salty or fatty tasting. What little I could find is they use chicken bones along with pork and seafood for the broth. It wasn't really a tonkotsu so perhaps it's more shoyu? It was good for a colder rainy day.

Back outside I realized the rain was not going to let up at all. At least Tokyo was getting that well needed water after feeling so dry. And I spent time listening to and watching the waterfall fountain outside of Tokyo Dome Hotel.

Tokyo Dome City is known for it's amusement rides including their roller coaster and Ferris Wheel. Which wasn't getting many riders this day.

So I took a few photos of Tokyo Dome. Last time I was here was March 28, 2008 for the first X-Japan reunion show. It started really late and didn't last long because Yoshiki collapsed at his drums. Still it was a moment in music history and I got to see Sugizo play with them for the first time in a concert.

Since it was too wet to go to the Koishikawa Korakuen Garden next to Tokyo Dome I headed for Korakuen Station. Easier said than found I discovered. But after a walk I did find it and headed for my last stop of the day. As for these two maneki neko, it's something I bought in the Jump Shop. Little Gintoki and Hijikata chibi from Gintama. I could not resist.