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Weird encounter in Kagurazaka or am i overthinking it?
if it is helpful context, i am east asian but dont look japanese (clothes, makeup, hair, etc). i was also alone and am in my 20s. and i was dressed somewhat scandalous by japanese standards lol. it was already dark and while the street was populated, it wasn't super busy.
i used to live in high crime cities in the US so maybe i am just paranoid??? but they were definitely targeting me for some reason. it was so strange for her to immediately sit on my bench (i was basically taking up her seat with my legs) when there was an entire street full of empty benches. did the woman need help?? or were they trying to trick me into something?? i haven't lived in japan long enough to know how the crime scene works. it would have been normal in my old city for people to try to harass you or steal your phone but i don't want to project that onto the people here in japan
or maybe the woman was mad her husband wanted to buy a house and wanted to complain to me XD
thank you for any insight!
I lived off Waseda-dori for two years and walked that slope constantly. One thing nobody's mentioned: those benches sit right in front of a real estate office, which means the touts working that strip aren't random, they're usually tied to one specific snack bar up one of the alleys off the main road, and the whole point is walking you uphill before you realize the tab situation. The dessert timing detail is the real tell for me, someone with a melting thing in their hands is stuck for a minute and can't do the quick stand-and-go.
But fwiw I'd push back a little on the "you don't look Japanese so you were targeted" read. Plenty of solo Japanese women get the same approach on that street, it's just that the pitch changes. The clothes might've made you read as easier to chat up, not as a mark specifically.
Practical bit: if it happens again and you want to eat outside, the little plaza by Akagi Shrine up the hill has actual seating and way less foot traffic from touts. Or just stand at the conbini. Sitting on a public bench at night solo anywhere in Shinjuku ward is inviting the approach, regardless of what you're wearing.
Kagurazaka has a lot of tiny bars and restaurants packed into those side lanes, and the benches along the main slope are a known spot for people who've had a few drinks to sit and cool off. What you're describing sounds less like a scam and more like a drunk woman who fixated on you, with a husband or boyfriend trailing behind trying to manage her. The pouty slouch and the eye-catching attempts fit that pattern way better than a setup, since actual street crime here rarely involves a two-person team staging a bench encounter in a well-lit residential neighborhood.
That said, your instinct to just leave was correct. The one thing worth knowing is that Kagurazaka sits right at the edge of Shinjuku Ward, and the area around Ushigome-Kagurazaka station gets rowdier after 10pm on weekends. If someone sits down uninvited next to you on an empty street, you don't owe them conversation. Standing up and walking is the whole playbook, and you already did it.
that bench setup near the real estate office is a known catch spot, but for a different reason than robbery. the play is usually a "massage" or snack bar intro where the woman walks you to a specific door and the guy behind is either a spotter or the one who blocks you from backing out. the agitated pouty thing is pressure, not flirting. it's meant to make you feel rude for leaving so you stay and talk.
what makes me think it's that and not just a drunk couple is the timing. she waited until your hands were full with a melting dessert, which is exactly when you can't just stand and walk off quickly. that's a tell.
for next time, the move is to not sit on those roadside benches solo after dark at all, melting food or not. duck into a conbini like the 7-Eleven up toward Iidabashi or just eat standing at the shop. and if someone parks next to you anyway, stand up mid-bite and go. you don't owe anyone an explanation or a polite exit.
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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.