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finger puppet toy stores in tokyo?
I'm guessing somewhere in nakano broadway would be a good place to start for a specialized finger puppet/keshi store, but seeing as the mall is so big I wouldn't know where to begin!
thank you!
Try the AmiAmi store in Akihabara. It's a few blocks off the main street, on the corner of Chuo Dori and a side street near the Yodobashi Camera. They have a whole floor of gacha and small collectibles, and I've seen official finger puppet sets from series like Persona and Final Fantasy in the glass cases near the register. The staff there are pretty good about knowing what's new, so you can ask them if they have anything specific in mind.
If you're willing to dig through bins, the Surugaya specialty store in Akihabara's backstreets has a secondhand section on the second floor. It's mostly older stock but I've found single finger puppets from Ghibli and old Nintendo games mixed in with the keychains for like 200 yen each. Just be patient, the organization is basically nonexistent.
For anime and video game finger puppets specifically, check out the secondhand shops in the Tachikawa area, particularly Book Off Super Bazaar. It's a bit of a trek from central Tokyo but they have a massive toy section on the second floor with bins of loose figures sorted by series. I've found some obscure RPG character finger puppets there that I never saw in Akihabara.
The Kotobukiya store in Akihabara's main street has a small but curated selection of official finger puppets near the register, usually from current seasonal anime. They're not cheap but you'll get boxed sets rather than random loose ones.
If you're willing to hunt through bulk bins, the Hard Off chain stores in the western suburbs like Kichijoji or Mitaka have the best prices. You'll have to dig through a lot of junk but every now and then someone sells off a whole collection and you can find dozens for 50 yen each.
Nakano Broadway is a solid bet, but you'll want to head to the Mandarake on the second floor. It's not a dedicated finger puppet store, but they have a good selection of loose keshi and mini figures including anime ones, often in bins or display cases near the gacha machines. The whole Mandarake complex there has several shops, but the main one on B1 and the one on the second floor are your best bets.
For a more focused hunt, try the Kiddy Land in Harajuku. The basement floor has a huge selection of capsule toys and small collectibles, and you'll find official anime finger puppets mixed in with the gacha and keychain displays. It's pricier than Nakano but way easier to navigate.
If you're open to secondhand, head to Akihabara and check the small vendor stalls on the upper floors of Radio Kaikan. Some of the older shops on the third and fourth floors have drawers of loose finger puppets from series like Dragon Ball and Pokemon that you can pick through for 100-300 yen each. Just bring small bills, they rarely break big ones.
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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.