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Yamanote line walking marathon - Yamarathon - any specific hints and tips?
Our last plan.
Start at Nishi Nippori. Go anti clockwise. Hug the line. Visit every station.
We got stuck on the outside edge of the loop at some weird junction in order to get to Tabata station. Had I do a lengthy double back. We also hit Ikebukuro near rush hour (bad move).
This time. Start at Tokyo. Head anti clockwise, don't visit every station (avoid Ikebukuro station by taking a side route) and switch in and out between the inner and outer loops accordingly.
TIA
Skipping Ikebukuro station is smart but the real trap is Tabata to Komagome. The Yamanote runs in a cutting there and the streets above don't connect cleanly, so you end up on the wrong side of the tracks near the Nishiguchi exit. Cut through Rikugien's outer path if it's open, saves you the awkward loop around Hongo-dori.
Also, start at 6 or 7am not later. Once you hit Shinjuku and Shibuya after 10 the crossings eat 5+ mins each and your pace collapses. Bring cash for conbini stops, a lot of the smaller ones between Sugamo and Otsuka are cash-only for some items.
Nishi Nippori start was fine but honestly Tokyo station start is better because you finish near food and you're not stranded out in Arakawa when your legs die.
tabata to komagome is covered but nobody mentioned osaki. that whole west side of the loop, osaki to shinagawa, is a maze of elevated roads and the station itself is huge. if ur hugging the line there u end up walking through office building plazas with no street food or toilets for a long stretch. plan a conbini stop before gotanda or u will regret it.
also flip ur direction. everyone does anti clockwise, so the sun is in ur face on the east side in the morning. go clockwise from tokyo instead, hit ueno and tabata while its still cool and save the shinjuku/shibuya mess for late afternoon when u can duck into depachika for a real meal. 30km is a long day, eat something that isnt onigiri at least once
the shinjuku to shibuya stretch is teh real killer, not ikebukuro. those underpasses and pedestrian bridges around Yoyogi will eat your time if you dont pick a side early. i'd say commit to the inner loop from Shinjuku and just ride it through Harajuku, way fewer lights.
also bring a battery pack, my phone died around Ebisu last time and navigating got rough.
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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