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want to meet at fmd_good Brew Lab
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Best meat market to find middle-aged/old desperate women?
Try the Shimbashi area instead, particularly around the old drinking alleys like Yurakucho Gado-shita under the train tracks. The crowd there skews older and more regular, with women in their 50s and 60s who come for the cheap yakitori and beer after work. Sit at a counter, order a drink, and just make conversation about the food or the neighborhood. Direct pickup lines will get you ignored, but being a familiar face over a few visits works better than you'd think. The key is patience and showing you're not just there to hunt.
You'd have better luck at the Tsukiji outer market area, but not the main touristy parts. Head to the side streets off Shinohashi-dori where the old-school sushi bars and standing sake joints are, especially on weekday afternoons. The regulars there are mostly older locals who've been coming for decades, and the bartenders will vouch for you if you're polite and show up a few times first. Don't try any direct approaches at the market itself, that'll get you shut out fast.
honestly skip the meat markets and head to the golden gai area in shinjuku but not the main alleys. there's a tiny bar called bar plastic model on the second floor of a building near the omoide yokocho side, opens around 6pm and gets a steady flow of older women who've been coming for years. the owner's an older lady herself and she'll introduce you if you're chill and order the same drink a couple times. just sit at the counter and listen more than you talk, they hate loud gaijin energy there.
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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