Shinjuku: the re-match! + a pinch of Meji shrine

Today we did Shinjuku once more! Determined to get our bus-ticket this time! We did some research the night before where the bus ticket building was and managed to find it this time. After buying our tickets for the trip to Matsumoto we went on to take a look in the mall near Shinjuku station. Now from the moment we entered a certain ambiance could be felt. The ambiance of..class, style, quality and overpriced high end brand products :P The mall near Shinjuku is full of high end brands such as: Armani, Hugo boss, Burberry etc. So suffice to say your little shopping trip ended quickly. Did see a nice coat, but from Armani(expensive..). So quickly ditching the shopping plan we went on to the next stop.

The Meji Shrine! is a relatively big complex and was made to honour the emperor Meji. The shire is located in a big park where next to the shire, a couple of other sight seeing objects can be found. During our visit we got to see something special. A traditional Japanese wedding! I did feel sorry for the people involved as it was freakishly hot once more and they were all wearing kimono's, suit's or other formal attire.
I made a prayer at the shire itself which requires a certain ritual. You put coins in a big box, you bow twice, clap twice, make your prayer and bow once more. After this we all left the shrine and cleansed ourselves the traditional way after which we went into a little restaurant where I had my first melon soda. Now I was told by multiple people that melon soda is a great drink, I disagree. I didn't like it that much :P But hey! at least I tried it! On our walk towards the subway we found a wall(literally a wall) of sake barrels and wine barrels. These were donated by people/companies and help with maintaining the shrine via these donations.

Next we continued our journey to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Office. At this huge building you can travel for free to the 45th floor and have a great all round view of Tokyo. This is actually a good substitute to the Tokyo Skytree and no waiting time! After taking a good supply of pictures we left again to get back to our hostel. Where we relaxed a bit and went for dinner at around 7 o'clock.

New foods of the day:
- red bean paste (was not too bad, but didn't have that much flavour)
- beef with sesame seeds, a certain sauce and rice of course (very tasty)

And that was it for day 5! Tomorrow I'll be going to Matsumoto to take a look at my room and explore the town a bit.

Extra fact of the day:
Have yet to see a Japanese person with a beard. So far I am the single bearded person when entering a subway.