Somewhere in Shinjuku

March 27th and the weather was gloomy. I started my day with a MR.waffle. I don't remember what flavor this was, but it was good. 

Back on the Fukotoshin Line. Definitely less riders and look, everyone had no problem social distancing. Actually, I'm sure everyone was glad to have a little extra space.

I stopped at KERA SHOP in Shinjuku and then walked a longer route around Shinjuku Station.

I wanted to visit Pure Sound. I made it there but didn't find anything I wanted.

I decided it would be good to rest a bit, so back to my hotel. Not the best photo of the setting sun but it was nice to see it reflected like this.

My treat for the day was this little strawberry cake from 7-Eleven.

They really don't have sweets like this at the 7-Elevens here. Nor the really fresh good food selection.

Even something simple like this they still made it look nice.

As for what I bought at KERA SHOP, the Moi-même-Moitié Candelabra Embroidery Shirt in black. Along with something else. Since my flight had not been cancelled again, I decided it would be okay to spend a little money. I really like the asymmetrical cuffs and the candelabra buttons. I have a couple little vintage Moitié ties so I thought this would be fun to wear like this. 

Looking for Calm

March 22nd in Ikebukuro and things were changing rapidly in the world. Airlines were cancelling flights because of the virus and travel warnings from various governments. I found myself checking JAL's website and Twitter feed regularly because it was difficult to find information about my return flight. One good thing was I had a Moomin Bakery Hattinfattener chocolate eclair for breakfast. 

Outside it was a beautiful day.

Heading out there were still a number of people on the streets of Ikebukuro. 

 But it really was less people than normal. I walked through Ikebukuro's Chinatown towards Ikebukuro Train Station. Except I wasn't going to go through the crowded station. As for Chinatown, it is called this because of the number of Chinese restaurants around the station.

 My plan was to walk around the north side of the station. There are a couple tunnels under the tracks there. I went to the furthest north tunnel, which leads to overpasses over the rest of the train tracks.

Heading over the the east side of the station and tracks. This is a prime location for train fans. While it was a longer distance to the east side, there were less people. 

And there were also sakura trees. 

Which was my plan for the day. To enjoy their beauty. 

I continued walking through the residential area and arrived at a small playground with the most beautiful sakura tree. 

While there were some children playing there, the real draw for locals was this beautiful tree in full bloom. 

I continued to walk through this residential area and arrived at a neighborhood park, Kami Ikebukuro Sakura Park, 豊島区立上池袋さくら公園.

There were various landscaped sections, picnic spaces and areas for children to play. There were a number of people there, but I have to think it would have been more crowded if it wasn't for the virus outbreak.

Because there were many sakura trees in bloom. 

 In the middle of the long park was this statue of an adorable girl and her bird. I haven't been able to find information as to the name of it or the artist. It fit in really well with the atmosphere of this neighborhood park.

Meanwhile, I was enjoying the beautiful sakura. 

I read there are twenty five or more various sakura trees in this narrow park. 

 Along with other types of trees like this magnolia.

A number of people were enjoying hanami picnics under the trees, but they did seem to try to make space in between the groups. Most were wearing masks. The feeling I had that they were mostly families who lived in the neighborhoods. 

 It was nice to find these little uncrowded places to enjoy sakura viewing. It may have involved a long walk, but it was worth it.

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