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Unpaid Modeling?
yeah so the legal gray area here is real. even unpaid work counts as "activities" under immigration law, and if immigration finds out you're doing shoots, even free ones, they can flag you for working without permission. agencies know this, that's why they'll pass.
but the practical workaround is what the other reply said, independent photographers. one thing i'd add though: check if your home country has a working holiday agreement with Japan. if you're from australia, UK, canada, etc, you can get a working holiday visa pretty easily, and that opens up legit unpaid or paid test shoots without the stress. tourist visa is just too risky for everyone involved.
also, if you do find a photographer willing to shoot, keep it super casual, no contracts, no payments, just "hey let's do a portfolio swap" vibes. that way it's not an employment situation at all, just two people doing creative stuff. but even then, don't post about it publicly with location tags that make it obvious you're on a tourist visa. immigration does check social media sometimes.
The other replies covered the legal side well, so I'll add a practical angle: even if you find a photographer willing to shoot, your portfolio won't do much without agency backing. Tokyo agencies scout from their own casting calls or known photographers, they rarely take walk-ins seriously, tourist visa or not. If you're just after the experience, look for university photography clubs or meetup groups, they're always happy to shoot anyone for free and it's way less awkward than cold-DMing pros.
One thing nobody mentioned: your visa stamp matters more than the unpaid part. When you enter Japan as a tourist, the landing permission is explicitly for sightseeing, and any shoot, even unpaid, can be seen as violating "activities not permitted." If you get caught, it's not just a fine, you can be banned from re-entry for years. That's a steep price for a few test shots.
If you're serious, save up for a short-term student visa at a language school. It costs around 150,000 to 200,000 yen for a few months, and it gives you a "Designated Activities" status that covers unpaid creative work if the school approves it. That's the only clean way to do what you're asking, and honestly, the school's visa support is worth the money alone.
Honestly, most agencies here won't touch you on a tourist visa, even for unpaid work. They're paranoid about immigration rules, and if you're not on a student visa or a working holiday visa, they see it as a liability. The bigger issue is that unpaid "test shoots" are usually done directly with photographers, not through agencies, since an agency still has to register you in their system.
If you really want to try, your best bet is to contact smaller, independent photographers on Instagram or through sites like Model Mayhem. Many of them do time-for-print or portfolio-building sessions and don't care about your visa status, because there's no formal employment contract. Just be upfront about your situation, and expect that some will still say no because they worry about your legal status if something goes wrong.
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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