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Subway still crowded late at night - what are you all up to and where are you going?
yeah it's a mix of both honestly. a lot of people do work late, especially in shinjuku where the big companies are, but also the after-work drinking culture is real. tuesday night is still a big nomikai (drinking party) night for some teams, and they'll hit izakayas in golden gai or omoide yokocho then catch the last train around midnight. you'll see salarymen in suits who are clearly on their way home from a few rounds, not the office. also, the last trains are a big deal here - if you miss the one around 12:30am you're looking at a taxi which can be 5000-10000 yen depending on distance so people cram in to avoid that. your 6:30pm end time would be considered early by local standards, 8-9pm is pretty normal for leaving the office and then drinks can go til 11
it's both but the after-work drinking is a bigger factor than you'd think. tuesday is actually a popular nomikai night, lots of teams do their weekly drinking on tuesdays or thursdays. the last train thing is the real driver though - everyone tries to catch that 12:15-12:30am window because taxis from shinjuku to somewhere like setagaya can easily run you 7000 yen. your 6:30pm would be considered early here, most office workers don't leave until 8 or 9 and then drinks start after that
honestly the after-work drinking is a huge part of it, tuesdays are just as common as fridays for nomikai. a lot of teams have a standing rule like "tuesday is izakaya night" because everyone's still around and nobody has weekend plans yet. your 6:30pm finish would be seen as leaving early here, most people in shinjuku offices roll out at 8 or 9 and then drinks go til last train. also the yamanote line at 11:45pm is basically a moving party of drunk salarymen, you'll get used to it
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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.