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How do I file a missing person report?
I live in California and we've been keeping in touch for the past year texting back and forth. I will be in Tokyo this May and we had plans to hang out together.
On Friday, she texted me how's my week been and etc. I texted back saying it's been good and if she has any plans for the weekend? Then afterward, no response from her at all. I texted back asking if she's there? Is she all right? I even tried calling and there's no response at all. I don't know if her phone is dead or not working or if she's sick and is currently in the hospital.
I don't know what to do since I live in California and I've been worried since Friday of what's happened to her. Can someone please give me advice on what I should do? Is it possible to file a missing person report as a foreigner located outside of Japan?
yeah so the police thing is possible but honestly it'll go nowhere fast from california. the real move is getting someone on the ground. if she's in tokyo and u have her address, u can actually order a delivery to her place through like uber eats or amazon japan and see if anyone picks it up, sounds weird but it works sometimes. or check if her line or insta shows last seen, that'll tell u if she's just ignoring u vs actually gone.
also she's russian so the embassy angle is worth pushing, but they're notoriously slow. another thing, if she's been in japan a few years she probably has a zairyu card and is registered at the local ward office, but u can't access that from outside. ur best bet is finding one friend or even a former coworker on her socials who lives in tokyo and asking them to swing by her building. japanese neighbors are weird about strangers knocking but a foreigner asking about a foreigner usually gets more sympathy. if it hits a week with zero sign, then call the tokyo metro police line and be ready to give them her full legal name in katakana if u can, that speeds things up a lot.
ok so nobody mentioned this but if she has a russian passport she might be registered with the russian consulate in tokyo, even if she didn't tell u. u can email them directly, they have a consular section for emergencies, and they'll sometimes do a welfare check if u say she's been unreachable for over a week. they're slow but they take russian citizens abroad seriously, esp if she's got a valid visa status or work permit.
also, check ur phone records for the timezone. if she usually replies within a few hours and it's now been days, that's ur real red flag, not the silence itself. and if she ever sent u a photo of her apartment or her building's entrance, reverse search it on google maps, u might get the exact address or at least the street name. that plus a ward name will make any police call way easier. if u got her line id or whatsapp, u can see if she's read ur messages, that's the fastest way to know if she's alive but avoiding u vs actually missing.
honestly the delivery trick works way better than people think. i did it once for a friend in tokyo, ordered a cheap bento to her place, and the delivery guy texted me back saying someone took it in. that told me she was alive at least. if u go that route use amazon japan, they leave stuff at the door more often than uber eats, and u can see if it says "delivered" vs "handed to resident".
another thing nobody mentioned is the tokyo english lifeline, it's a free phone service for foreigners, number is 03-5774-0992. they're not police but they know how to navigate this stuff and can sometimes get a welfare check going through local contacts. also if she's russian, check if she's got a vk account and see if her last post has geolocation, a lot of them tag their neighborhood without realizing it. that could give u the ward name and then u can call the local police box directly, they're more chill about these things than the central line.
lastly, if u have her full name in russian, try searching her on japanese job sites or linkedin japan, sometimes expats list their workplace publicly and u can find the company's main line. calling them is a long shot but if u explain u're a friend from california worried, japanese receptionists will sometimes pass a message to hr. that's honestly more
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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.