Shinjuku on a Sunday

So I was in Shinjuku to do a little shopping. On a Sunday. While Shinjuku looked basically the same, something was missing.

That was the crowds of younger people that normally crowd the streets. Instead the people walking the streets had a more conservative, sedate appearance. There were still a good number of tourists in the shops.

As I wrote in my previous post about Shinjuku shrines, I walked a different way to Marui Annex. Near Golden Gai I saw a couple of interesting buildings. 

This building clad in puzzle pieces houses an izakaya restaurant. 

Underfoot was notice that Godzilla provides free wi-fi for Shinjuku. 

While ahead I noticed another bit of architecture. 

This curious attempt of a neo-gothic facade is for a karaoke building.

Of course I also noticed sakura blooming here and there. 

I'm sure I have posted photos of Marui Annex in prior posts. What I didn't post was something at KERA Shop. Unlike most of the shops where photos are not allowed, the shop clerk let me take a photo of these iron gates. Which use to adorn the Moi-même-Moitié shop. Which I visited back in 2010. So a little nostalgic here. Along with finding out the shop clerk also went to the Moi dix Mois birthday lives and was astounded by the throwing of the roses. Fun moment there.

So what did I buy? Sorry the photos are not great but hotel rooms in Tokyo are not known for their lighting. At one of the shops in Marui Annex I finally got a pair of Yosuke USA shoes. I love them! Very comfortable. I want a pair in white but I don't think they sell them any more. 

Unfortunately there wasn't much available at KERA Shop for Moi-même-Moitié since this was right after the company became under new ownership. I did end up with two pairs of over the knee socks. I like these socks. They hold up well and do not slip down. I also bought a smart phone case because I wanted the omake item. 

Moi-même-Moitié hair pins! Difficult to tell from this photo but the one has a blue rose with beads. I had wanted this for a while so I was happy to finally get it. 

I also had to get some KitKats. Marui Annex has a nice shop on the first floor with regional foods. It's a good place to go if anyone is looking for items to bring home for gifts or to enjoy themselves. I got a box of the Sake KitKats again. They changed the box and I think the flavor was changed a little also. The other box is Zeitaku Matcha hot springs luxury KitKats. The green tea used is suppose to be high quality. I've tried a number of match KitKats over the years so I almost didn't get these. But the cats won me over.

I also bought the limited Iyokan Orange KitKats. I admit these were my favorites of the three.

KitKat puts sakura flowers on their limited springtime offerings. I thought it was cute how they had different styles for the packaging inside. Including what looks like an orange daruma.