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want to meet at fmd_good Market Deli
want to meet at fmd_good The Spot
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Things to do/see relating to sustainability/permaculture/organic farming/tree planting in Tokyo?
I'm interested in finding any sort of activity, attraction or group involved in these topics to see the sort of stuff happening in Japan in those niches, and to meet any like minded folk.
If anyone can recommend anything I'd be super grateful! Even outside Tokyo towards the country is fine as I'm planning on a few trips out there too. Thanks!
honestly the seikatsu club is a solid rec but if u want something more hands on try the mori no ie forest therapy center out in okutama, it's about 90 mins from central tokyo by train. they run tree planting events and forest maintenance workshops pretty regularly, the guides speak some english and it's more about actual work than just looking at stuff
for something totally different there's a tiny cafe called kigawa in nakameguro that sources everything from local organic farms and the owner is super into permaculture, she'll talk ur ear off about soil health if u let her. also the tokyo organic farmers market at the united nations university in shibuya happens saturdays and sundays, the farmers there are really open about their methods and some do farm visits if u ask nicely
if ur heading out of town the aya town in miyazaki prefecture is famous for its organic farming community, they have a whole eco-museum thing going on with farm stays and workshops. bit of a trek but worth it if ur serious about seeing how japanese organic farming actually works at scale
if you're up for a day trip, the tanada (rice terraces) in obuse, nagano are worth it. there's a group called tanada club that does volunteer work maintaining the old terraces and planting rice, it's super hands-on and you get to see how traditional farming coexists with nature. the town itself is small but has a cool sake brewery that uses organic local rice. train from tokyo is about 2 hours and the views are stunning
the seikatsu club and unu market are good starts but if you want to see something more grassroots try the earth day tokyo festival in yoyogi park in april, it's a whole weekend of workshops and talks on everything from seed saving to natural building. for a quieter thing the shimokitazawa area has a tiny shop called the farm that does local organic veg boxes and sometimes hosts small meetups, the owner is a brit actually so you might get some uk-japan comparison chat. if you're going out of town the kazeno mori farm in chichibu does volunteer days where you help with bamboo forest thinning and planting native trees, it's a good way to see how rewilding works here and the train ride from ikebukuro is pretty scenic
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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.