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Any pickup/dropoff laundry recommendations?
tbh the sento angle is underrated but for actual pickup, the konbini delivery lockers are the least fuss. there's a bunch of those PUDO stations around shinjuku, especially near the station exits on the south side, and you can book pickup through the Wash&Fold app even if the UI is janky. they'll grab your bag from the locker, not your door, but you avoid the whole "nobody's home" dance.
if you're dead set on door pickup, check the local Facebook groups for shinjuku expats, there's always a few stay-at-home folks who run a side hustle doing laundry runs for like 1500 yen a bag. i found one through the Tokyo Cheap Living group who takes sheets and towels, pays cash, and she's been doing it for years. just search "laundry pickup shinjuku" there and you'll see posts. she's not on any app, but she's faster than the big services on a good day.
one more thing, if you're near the Yodobashi camera main building, the basement has a self-service wash that's actually got a drop-off counter now, they'll fold and wrap your stuff for like 800 yen extra. not pickup, but it's open till 10pm so it's a decent last resort.
if u use the big apps like Rire theyre decent but the real hack is just hitting up a nearby sento with a laundry service attached, some of them do pickup for regulars. theres one in Takadanobaba called Oedo Onsen that takes sheets and blankets, they charge by the bag and its like 1000 yen flat, no weight games. you do gotta drop it off yourself if you want pickup tho, so not exactly door to door. another angle: if you're near a Uni, the laundromats around Waseda campus are super used to students shipping stuff back, a few of them have a drop box where u leave a bag with your name and they text u when its done, no app needed, just cash and a sharpie. for shinjuku specifically, theres a place in the basement of the Odakyu department store that does same-day service if u get there by 10am, its technically for clothes but they took my duvet cover no questions asked, cost me 2200 yen and i picked it up at 5pm sharp. prob not what ur looking for if u want true pickup, but solid backup if the apps lag.
The big chains like Cleanup and White House are all over Shinjuku and most do pickup and dropoff, but they're usually set up for suits and shirts. For sheets and heavier stuff, I'd look at a local coin laundry with a service option, there's one near Okubo station called Wash Plus that does same-day pickup if you order before noon. The catch is you usually need to call or use their LINE to schedule, the English support is spotty, so bring a JP phone or have your hotel's front desk help you book it. If you're lazy like me, the hotel's own laundry service is pricier but way less hassle for a short stay.
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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.