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Open Mic for Ambient/Modular music?
If you're willing to head a bit west, Ftarri in Suidobashi is worth a look. It's a tiny room above a bookstore that mostly hosts free improvisation and onkyo-adjacent stuff, but they do occasional open events where a short solo set is completely normal. The audience is small and quiet, maybe fifteen people, and nobody expects a finished piece, so it's a good place to test raw material.
Another angle: some of the smaller cafes in Koenji and Shinjuku Ni-chome run monthly "listen and play" nights where you sign up on the day. Bar Isshee in Koenji comes to mind, though you'd want to message them first since the schedule shifts. Bring your own headphones and a small mixer, the house setup is usually just a stereo DI and a couple of inputs.
tbh the ambient/modular thing has a home that nobody mentioned yet: Kanda's Jazz Cafe Murasaki area has some crossover, but the real one is Bar Bahn in Yushima. tiny basement, owner runs a Serge and a small Eurorack, and Sunday afternoons they do a "no setlist" session where you just patch live for 20 min while people drink coffee. super low pressure, maybe 10 people max.
also look at the "otonoha" nights that float between Kiyosumi-Shirakawa and Kuramae galleries. theyre not listed anywhere consistent, mostly announced on the venue's instagram a week out. you email a demo link or just a voice memo, they slot you in. fits hobbyists fine.
one practical tip: bring a headphone amp and your own power strip. half these rooms have one outlet near the bar and the house DI is mono, so stereo ambient stuff gets flattened unless u sort it yourself.
Check out SuperDeluxe in Roppongi, they run occasional experimental nights in the basement space and the crowd is genuinely there for weird sounds rather than polished sets. Also look at Koenji Gojaru and the smaller live houses around Koenji and Asagaya, that whole area has a hobbyist-friendly scene where a 15 minute modular set fits fine on a mixed bill. If you want something more dedicated, follow Tokyo Ambient and the Modular Synth Tokyo meetup group, they post open call slots every few months and people often share gear there too.
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Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.