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want to meet at fmd_good Wildlife Reserve
want to meet at fmd_good Market Deli
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Is tape water safe in Japan?
yeah tap water here is technically safe to drink, the PFAS thing is real but the levels are below WHO guidelines for now. the bigger issue is old plumbing in some buildings, especially in shitamachi areas like asakusa or shitaya where pipes haven't been replaced in decades. i'd just use a brita filter or get a katakana-branded one from donki for like 1500 yen, it's cheap insurance and tastes better anyway. bottled water is a waste of plastic and money when you can fill up at the ward office or a public water station for free
you've been here three years and only worrying now? lol fair enough. i'd say the bigger thing nobody talks about is the scale buildup in old water heaters from the tap, not the pfas. if ur skin feels weird after a shower it's probably that, not the chemicals. filter for drinking is fine though, i use a simple one from bic camera
the pfas thing is mostly about wells near the tokyo bay area like edogawa or katsushika where groundwater is a bigger deal. the city water comes from different treatment plants so it varies by ward. i've been drinking it for 5 years without issues but i do run it through a filter just for taste. the old pipe thing is real though, if you're in a building built before 2000 it's worth checking if they've replaced the lead pipes
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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