Frozen/closed MUFJ account?

yeah the 10 year rule kicked in around 2021 but you're right on the edge. even if they transferred it to the dormant fund, you can still claim it back at a branch. bring your old passbook and any cards, plus your passport. if that fails, the MUFJ in otemachi has a dedicated help desk for foreign clients, first floor of the mitsubishi building. K. Sieg is probably long gone but the foreign exchange staff there are generally fine in english

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honestly you're prob fine. the 10 year rule is real but it's not like they just keep the money forever, it sits with the bank for a while before going to the state. and even then you can claim it back with proper ID. your bigger issue might be that they closed the account due to no registered address, not just inactivity. if the address on file was a rental that's long gone, they might have flagged it as abandoned.

fwiw i'd skip azabudai and hit the shinjuku branch near the south exit, they have a dedicated foreign customer desk on the 2nd floor. i went there last year for a similar issue with a really old account and the staff were fine in english, no need to hunt down someone specific from 13 years ago. bring your passport and any old bankbook or cash card, even if it's expired they can look you up by account number. if you don't have the number, bring your old residence card or any mail from them.

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You should be fine. The inactive account law mostly applies to accounts that have been truly dormant for 10 years with no activity at all, and even then the funds are held by the bank for a while. Since you still have a passbook and cash card, and it's just over 13 years, you'll probably just need to go to a branch with your old passbook and ID. MUFJ's main branch in Marunouchi has English-speaking staff at the foreign exchange counter, and I'd start there rather than hoping K. Sieg is still at Azabudai after 13 years. Just bring your passport and any old bank documents you still have.

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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

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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.

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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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