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Stations getting brighter?
This persisted long after the quake, over a decade for my local metro station, but today when I got off the train to head home after work, I noticed that suddenly the station was much brighter: where just this morning things had been as they had for the past 13 years...suddenly all the lights were lit again!
Has anyone else noticed this about stations? Was this just a freak fluke at my local? I'm in Shinjuku, so it's not a random station no one ever uses, it was just such a striking contrast after having gotten used to it being so dim for so long.
Have your local stations long since gone back to bright lights (or maybe yours never changed)?
You're not imagining it. I live near Shinjuku too and my station on the Toei line just got noticeably brighter about two weeks ago. I think Tokyo Metro and Toei have been quietly upgrading a lot of the older fluorescent fixtures to LEDs, which not only saves more power than the half-lit setup ever did but also gives off a cleaner light. The old dimmed look always felt a bit grim, especially in the winter.
honestly i think it's not just stations, i've noticed the same thing in some office buildings and konbinis around Yotsuya too. the half-lit thing was always a bit of a pain when you couldn't read the ticket machine display properly at night. fwiw i heard from a friend who works at Tokyo Metro that they're replacing all the old T8 fluorescents with LED panels across the network, so the bright lights are prob here to stay. kinda wild it took this long but at least it's happening
Yeah, I've noticed the same thing at a few stations along the Chuo line. My local stop in Suginami was dim for years, but sometime in the last month or so it's like someone flipped a switch and it's full brightness again. Maybe they're finally wrapping up the post-2011 energy saving measures.
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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