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What's up with the Helicopters?
if u have the flightradar24 app u can filter by choppers and see exactly who they belong to. most of the time it's the tokyo metro police or the news stations but sometimes it's the coast guard or the fire dept doing training flights. the fire dept ones are usually bigger and louder, they look like the military ones but they're yellow or red.
also if u're near tokyo bay or the sumida river, a lot of those are sightseeing tours, they fly pretty low and slow. they're not circling so much as following the river route, but from the ground it can look the same. if u can't tell the difference, check the sound, the tour ones have a steady thump thump, the police ones are more erratic.
Depends which part of the city you're in. If you're around Roppongi or Azabu, a lot of that is just the news stations doing their morning traffic reports, they're up there every single day around 7 to 9. If it's later in the evening and they're hanging over the same spot, check if there's a fire or a protest, that's usually what keeps them hovering.
Another thing nobody mentions is the US military. Yokota Air Base runs choppers pretty regularly, and they sometimes fly over the western side of Tokyo, especially near Machida or Tachikawa. They don't show up on the usual flight trackers, so it can feel random and loud, but it's routine. If you want to know exactly what's up, the J-Alert app or the Tokyo Fire Department's live incident map will tell you faster than any news feed.
could be the metropolitan police doing their routine patrols, they have a few bases scattered around and do loops over the city center pretty regularly. but if it feels extra busy today, try checking the tokyo fire department map, they post incidents live and it'll show if there's a fire or rescue op somewhere u can't see from the ground.
also, if ur near the west side, like around kokubunji or fuchu, that's the japan ground self-defense force airfield, they do maintenance flights all the time. those are the big twin-rotor ones, sound like a washing machine in the sky. i live near there and got used to it, but visitors always think something's wrong lol
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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.