Jiyu Gakuen Myonichikan and Frank Lloyd Wright

I decided I wanted to see more of Japan in the snow. So off I went for a walk. 

I decided to head in a direction that I had gone before. Spring flowers were competing with the snow.

With Japanese aesthetics appearing even in concrete.  

When I reached my first destination, the beautiful sakura trees grabbed my attention. 

The second thing I noticed was this lovely long building standing stately in the snow. 

For this isn't just any building, but one of the few in Japan that was designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright. 

This is自由学園明日館, Jiyu Gakuen Miyonichikan's The House of Tomorrow. 

I had a hard time deciding what I wanted to photograph more. So, more sakura. 

And more of the Prairie School designed school. Which was the original purpose of the four buildings here.

More of the sakura, which gracefully frames this historical building with it's amazing windows. It feels just right in this space. 

Nowadays there are weddings and various events here. The facilities can be rented for filming, concerts and more. 

Across the street is the auditorium. 

 Where it is easier to get a closer look at the design details.

I could have stayed longer, but there was more I wanted to see. One place that I did not think would be open because of the virus and the snow. But I was going to take a chance. Would I be lucky this day?

Ikebukuro Shrines in the Snow

Something local that would be nice to see in the snow? Shrines of course!  

So before going to the market, I stopped at Mitake and Kosodate Shrines. 

I had seen these shrines earlier in my trip, but seeing them again in the snow was delightful. 

Even prettier was Sanja Shrine. 

The iris japonica were still standing after the snowfall. 

And snow remained on the camelias.  

The pretty sakura tree also had a snow coating. 

Seeing the shrines in snow helped me decide where else I wanted to go. More of that in my next couple of posts. What I found was one of the most beautiful places I've seen in Japan.

March Snow Day in Ikebukuro

March 29th and my time in Tokyo was almost up. What would I do this day? 

I thought about this as I enjoyed a sakura dorayaki. 

And watched the rain turn to snow. 

Between places closing because of Covid-19 and my not wanting to be in crowded enclosed places during this time, the snow limited my choices even more. 

But it was fun to see this. I had been in an ice snow mix storm in Ueno, but this was much nicer to see. 

Enough snow fell to build up a little. Sticking as we call it here. 

Finally it stopped. So I decided to get out and see a few things in the neighborhood. There was snow in the sakura tree on the left and snow in front of Lawson. And enough snow to make it slippery in places.

Snow on these pink ume plum blossoms. 

I admit there wasn't much snow on things. It was melting fast because the temperatures were above zero. But it was fun to see familiar things with a coating of snow on them. 

And despite the temperatures, there was still a bit of snow on some things. Which made me think of a couple places to visit to see how they looked dressed in white.

Part of my trip outside was to get fresh food. I found a good local market. And strawberries.