Moomin Cafe - Tokyo

I was having a little TBT in my head and realised I never posted any pictures from my trip to the Moomin Cafe in Tokyo, what! (ﾉ･ｪ･)ﾉ 

I think part of the reason I didn't was because I had a bit of a bad experience...none of the cuddly toys wanted to sit with me. Considering this cafe was initially marketed as a place for lone diners to not feel alone...I was the only person there alone... and without a toy to sit opposite the message was loud and clear: even stuffed toys don't like you ʕ≧ᴥ≦ʔ But I am a strong, sassy, independent female lady and I made the most of it. 

There was a little 20/30 minute queue to do outside but this was ok as its within a shopping centre that has a ROLLER COASTER so I was mildly entertained while I waited (it was operating empty, but still). You get your menus outside so you don't waste no time deciding what you want once you get in there. This is the fab outside area.

Once inside I was seated with my back to a window on a two seater table facing out into the restaurant. Here I could gaze upon all the happy families, children, couples, friends etc. smiling…laughing…talking. I became acutely aware I was the only lone diner in this "anti loneliness cafe" 

(the loneliness of lonlinesses) (╯•﹏•╰) Plus out of about 8 toys hanging in the cafe none of them made it to my table in the time I was there, guyssssss.

so I took this awkward photo of everyone else having a good time

The food was fab though and there was lots of FREE BREAD all different kinds, it was a bread buffet! I think thats chicken meat in the katsu curry, I'm vegetarian but had to order the most instagramable looking meal even if it goes against my dietary requirements. I skipped those bits and ate the sauce and rice. I think the orange stuff was soup. Of course the rice is pure moomintroll. 

When you pick a desert you get to keep the little moomin cup it comes in. I knew I would not like the taste of this particular custardy desert but FREE CUP.

I probably spent an hour or so at my table so you don't feel rushed which is nice. Time especially goes slow when waiting for your bill...alone... with no wifi 

*looks at photo's on phone for 8th time* 

*contemplates meaning of existence* 

Oh yes the bill! 

*waits for them to come back to collect the cash*

*Tries not to stare at people*

Next door is a Moomin Bakery and shop! You cannot fault their skills: everything looks fab and classy like Moomins. Tokyo really does theme cafes well! I forgive you Moomin for not being able to sit with me, you are a busy man I get it. 

It's located in the LaQua Shopping Centre, Tokyo Dome ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ

Tokyo: No Shopping. No Life.

I went to Tokyo back in January. I think one of my favourite things was the shops ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ Below is a little bit on my shopping experience and what I picked up.

Sanrio is a Japanese company that has been creating all the kawaii over the years. In the 90's their key characters were Hello Kitty, Keroppi and Bad Badtz Maru. Now theres a whole bunch of new guys on the block. At one point I thought I was in the midst of a jet lag meltdown when I saw the music video of a singing salmon on the TV, but thats just one of their newer characters Kirimi Chan.

There's also Purin the golden retriever in a beret and a depressed looking egg called Gudetama. I wasn't aware of any of these guys until I went to Tokyo and immediately wanted all of teh merchandise...ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ(clever work Sanrio)

Here is a rundown of the few of the shops I visited

Mighty Soxer (Takeshita Street, Harajuku)

Lots of different types of socks and tights, mostly with faces. You can get 3 pairs for ¥1000 (about £5) and the quality is good, not sure you would even get that sort of deal in the UK. I don't wear socks, but I came home with 6 pairs. 

Daiso 100 Yen Store (Harajuku)

I wasn't 100% sold on the Daiso store. It is a £1 shop so there are going to be all the random household products you get in any £1 shop but I did find some Moomin biscuits in there which would probably cost £6-£7 in London. I bought some correction tape too…I never use correction tape but its the shape of a chick so....

Kiddyland (Harajuku)

Ahh this was my favourite. Floors and floors with all the Sanrio and game characters you could want. There is an entire Rilkkuma and Hello Kitty FLOOR and departments dedicated to Miffy, Moomin, Gudetama, Kapibarasan, Line Friends, Studio Ghibli, Ojipan and more.

I almost lost a contact lens as I was forgetting to blink. If you don't have long in Tokyo and you want to get some cute and pointless stuff this could be a one stop option. This is a Shibe pen, its ears click the pen down

Tokyu Hands (various places - Shibuya)

Tokyu Hands is a chain department store so you will find one wherever you are in Tokyo. Shibuya has a large one of about 7-8 floors. Each floor is dedicated to a department so you will find one with hardware, beauty, stationary, outdoor gear etc. I found the beauty floor interesting (various devices to help you work on your smile…) and stationary. I didn't find all that much to buy as its still a place for actual proper shopping (boring!) and not just useless objects with cute faces on them. My faves from here included Alpaca Mascara, Kiwi Point Pads and Moomin washi tape. Lashes like Alpaca, the original eyelash goals.

Lumine Est Shopping Centre - Shinjuku

This was our default place to go when we wanted something to eat without all the guess work. But there were also floors of clothes shops in here too. I only got to check them out briefly on the last day (probably a good thing) but there were lots of little department stores with nautical and preppy girls clothing. I picked up a 'one size' cord dungaree dress for £12 here but easily could have gone crazy if I had any suitcase space left (・×・)

Shopping culture

Local shop staff are so polite and unassuming that its almost other worldly.

People bow frequently and talk through promotional offers (somewhat to themselves) while stacking shelves. In some stores you may be expected to remove your shoes when going into the fitting rooms (this seemed to the case in Uniqlo). I managed to get through most transactions with a lot of nodding and saying sumimasen (sorry). This bear was in the Line Friends store in Harajuku ʕӧ●̫ӧʔ

Sale Fever!

It can get a bit crazy if there is a discount day on. This video clip of when we entered one department store in Harajuku gives you an idea. It was very tempting to stayed glued to the back of the elevator. Departments all compete with each other to get the crowd buying from their area, so people stand on boxes shouting and waving banners. Not for those of a nervous disposition.

This was on a 10% off day!

Haul Video

Here is a little haul video on vimeo of the things I picked up. I filmed this a couple of months ago, its not perfect but I thought I might as well put it up with this blog post

Free Shipping

I've just set up a coupon code that can be used on my Etsy store till Tuesday 7th April. It should allow free shipping in the UK and worldwide when you checkout with it this weekend. Any problems let me know

ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ bell@veronicafever.com

What's on my desk: Rilakkuma Bear Purse (eBay), Instax Yellow Mini 8 Camera, Little My Moomin Scissors by Fiskars, Jar is by Kinska (etsy)

What I've been reading

The Humans - Matt Haig 

This has been a favourite. It did 'go off on one' a bit at points towards the end and seem a little laboured out but some of the premises at the beginning made up for that.  This blunt take on humans from an alien perspective reminded me a bit of Don in the Rosie Project which made it all the more charming. I believe the alien occupation of the protagonist is also a metaphor for a mental collapse and theres a couple of philosophical notions in there.

The Girl With All The Gifts - M.R, Carey 

At first I wasn't sure about this one, I was worried it was all going to be based in the one place and couldn't see where it was going to go, but once the pace picked up and the characters got on the move I really got into it. In some ways it was similar to The Walking Dead but with the complication of there being child zombies who are still half human (although that wouldn't phase Carol) Be warned its all pretty glib being the apocalypse…and a bit gruesome. I liked it. 

If You Find Me - Emily Murdoch 

If You Find Me might be a little heavy for some as the core of it is child abuse but its very poetic and I did enjoy the story becoming clear. The characters are created really well. It reminded me a little of 'Room' by Emma Donoghue in the sense that its about growing up away from society and then the shock of being surrounded by people for the first time.

I'd recommend The Girl With All The Gifts the most out of these. I'm currently reading another post apocalyptic book The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness, Yey! End of the world!

Moomin Shop - London

"I'll take you to the Moomin Shop" (50 Cent...Candy Shop) 

I was looking up places to buy Moomin bits in Japan and found there is a Moomin shop in London. I went up to Covent Garden to bask in all its Moominess. A few of the bits I picked up are at the bottom. They have some plastic cutlery which is cheaper to buy but still satisfying to look at...

 

Classy Christmas decorations Covent Garden, classy.

2 x Moomin coasters, Snufkin magnet, 2 x plastic Moomin plates, Moomin plastic cup, Moomin pens

Passed the cake test

Moomin Napkins

I came across Dreamzzzzz on Etsy when I was looking for table mats as I've recently wood stained my desk and kitchen bar. She makes custom tablecloths, napkins etc and had this Moomin print fabric I have never seen before. I asked her to do me a set of napkins and she kindly obliged. Moomin errythang.