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want to meet at fmd_good Ironhouse Steaks
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Where do I buy Pokémon playing cards?
You might have better luck hitting up the smaller card shops in Ikebukuro. The Sunshine City area has a couple of places tucked into the back alleys near the Animate store. One is called Card Labo, theyre on the second floor of a building just off the main street and they often have older singles in glass cases. Prices can be a bit higher since they know what they've got, but its worth checking if you're after that specific 1st gen Japanese text.
honestly if akihabara and nakano didnt work out, try the card shops in the backstreets of jimbocho. its mostly known for used books but theres a few places like the yellow submarine chain that carry vintage singles. the one near the intersection of yasukuni dori has a basement floor with glass cases full of older pokemon stuff
fwiw the smaller shops in shinjuku's omoide yokocho area sometimes have random binders of singles too, not just the big ones. i found a base set charizard there once for like 3000 yen which felt like a steal
For first gen cards with Japanese text, your best bet is actually Nakano Broadway. Take the JR Chuo line to Nakano station, it's about 5 minutes from Shinjuku. The whole shopping complex is full of card shops and hobby stores, and they tend to have better vintage stock than Akihabara's tourist-heavy spots. The shops on the fourth floor in particular, like Mandarake and the smaller independent sellers, usually have binders of singles rather than just sealed product. If you strike out there, the Card Kingdom chain has a shop in Shibuya near the Mark City building, they keep a decent selection of retro cards behind the counter so you have to ask to see them.
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.
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