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What's with the bags full of anime pins?
those are itabags for sure, the "painful" part is real when you see the prices on some of those pins. the middle aged women thing makes sense because a lot of them have been collecting since the 90s or early 2000s when stuff like sailor moon or evangelion was huge, so they have decades of merch built up. you'll see them mostly around sunshine city or the k-books near the station, that's where the resale shops are that sell loose pins for like 300-500 yen each
it's not just a bag trend, it's a whole aesthetic called itabag. the women you're seeing are doing "osage" (推し活) which is basically putting their favorite character on display in a really extra way. ikebukuro's otome road is ground zero for this, specifically the k-books women's section on the 2nd floor of the main building near the station. the middle aged women are often the ones with the deepest collections because they've got the disposable income and the nostalgia from the 90s boom. you can even buy clear bag inserts at animate for like 800 yen to make your own without damaging the acrylic pins
yeah that's a specific thing called itabag (痛バッグ), literally "painful bag" because it hurts your wallet. they're common at places like 乙女ロード (otome road) in Ikebukuro, that whole street is basically female otaku central. the middle aged women you're seeing are likely serious collectors who've been into this for years, it's not a new trend at all, just something that's become more visible now that stores like k-books and animate have dedicated sections for it
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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