Return to Venue Fort

Eight years ago I first visited Venus Fort. It does not look like much on the outside. 

This time I entered through the History Garage. Not intentionally. But still it was fun to see those retro automobiles. 

And the vintage pseudo store fronts. Although not that retro, seeing that there are recent reproduction Barbie dolls in there.

In between all this is a portable shrine. 

Near the retro gas station. 

 What I came to see was this.

 The interior of Venus Fort.

While not as lit up as it was at Christmas eight years ago, 

The interior design is still impressive. With a definite Italian feel, it reminds me a lot of The Venetian in Las Vegas. 

Including the ceilings.

Which are painted like the sky to give you the feeling you are walking through a medieval town. 

In fact they even go from twilight 

to dawn and back again. 

It was nice to see that Cobara-Hetta was still there. I ate lunch here eight years ago. 

Under this beautiful yet not real sky. 

 And next to this gorgeous fountain. Next time, I will have to do that again.

There are six statues of goddesses at the fountain. 

It's a lovely place to spend time at on a hot muggy day. Which is why I had thought of stopping at Venus Fort in the first place during this trip. But then I realized, like most of the other places I went to, there was a connection. To the musician Mana.

Hibiya Park

 Every trip I take I have a list of places I want to see. Some are not so exciting but still are interesting. With Tokyo, that list is very long. So this time I wanted to get to a number of places that I'd thought about for some time. Which is why I went to Tsukiji. That same day I decided I wanted to see a fountain.

 So a short subway ride and I was in Hibiya Park. Because there is a fountain there. I know there are other fountains in Tokyo but it's not so easy to find them.

Hibiya Park's Fountain is a bit easier to find. Just beyond it is the Hibiya Open Small Music Hall. 

Along with lots of lovely green trees. At night they have colored lighting. 

 I'd like to go back to see that. Hopefully it won't be raining. 

Besides the fountain there were hints of spring flowers. And a Tokyo Tower topiary. 

In fact, there was a lot of planting of flowers happening. And park maintenance. Lots of it. 

I thought maybe there would be sakura blooming. 

I'm sure these trees look amazing. When the skies are not so dark. 

I kept searching. And found some amazing trees just starting to show their beauty. 

Camellias were also beginning to bloom. The pretty little Craftsman style building just beyond is the Felice Garden, a wedding venue.   

I kept walking hoping to find something interesting. Since Hibiya Park is next to the Imperial Palace I wasn't surprised to find a moat wall here. 

This part of the park was constructed to reflect the type of garden that existed when the park was opened in 1903. The park had been part of estates back when Tokyo was Edo.

Even though the park and this garden were under maintenance, koi still swam in the pond. I understand there is a fountain in the pond but it looks like part of it was removed.

However there were still interesting things to see. Birds. Not the flock of pigeons that would not leave me alone. This large black bird across the pond. 

A Japanese cormorant. For most, we see them in fishing videos. So getting to see one like this was nice.

Along with this ghostly white bird. I knew it was a heron or egret. I've seen great egrets here in Oregon so being able to see an eastern great egret was also nice. In fact, this wasn't the only time I saw one on my trip.

Happy Harajuku Birthday

 Still March 19th. I stopped at a couple other areas of Tokyo besides Ebisu. Nothing too interesting, just a little shopping. It included Harajuku. Crowded Harajuku. Takeshita Dori was packed with people as it usually is.

So I ducked down a side street. I find them much more appealing than crowds of tourists. 

You never know what you will find. Creative decorative details. 

Lovely little plazas with fountains. 

I made it to LaForet, a department store known for it's fashion. Heading back up Omotesando Dori towards Harajuku Station, I noticed a cafe. I thought I had read about it online. So I thought I would stop in at Tokyo Apartment Café. 

There were plenty of seats and the wait staff was friendly and helpful. Besides being a café, it looked like they also did a bit of bar service. Long counters for the food with liquor bottles overhead. 

If I could describe the decor, it reminded me of 1960's Americana with a Scandinavian touch. My artist uncle would have loved it, since it made me think of his home. There were a few different rooms beside the main one I was in. The one downside was even though I was in the non-smoking section, the odor of cigarettes was strong. Clearly it's not non-smoking in this place even if they say it is. It's also interesting that the café is below street level, giving a below ground view of the street.

The menu was in the form of a newspaper, which I think was a clever way to do it if a place's menu changes a lot.  

Because I had eaten lunch, I was in the mood for something else. Being it was Mana's birthday day, of course cake was needed. 

 Just a photo to give a feel of the place.

I chose Earl Gray cake. Accented with a bit of mint and a little sprinkle of powdered sugar, the cake was nice. Not too sweet, the cake was moist and light. While it might be overdoing the tea, I went with iced oolong which paired well with this. 

So not much else for Harajuku since I've been there a number of times before. Just click on the label for it and you can see other posts about the area. As to what I bought at LaForet, just a couple over the knee Moi-même-Moitié socks. I do like them, they stay up well unlike some other brands I have tried. As for what is next, maybe night time sights?