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want to meet at fmd_good Wildlife Reserve
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Any recos for photo studios with a Christmas themed shoot?
imo Photo Studio Kano in ekoda is worth checking out. they do a christmas theme every year but it's more of a cozy japanese-style living room setup with kotatsu and twinkle lights, not the big commercial santa thing. it's like 6000 yen for 30 minutes and they give u all the raw files on a usb right there.
tell ur friend to book through their line account because the website is a pain and barely works in english. ekoda is a quiet neighborhood but it's like 5 minutes from ikebukuro on the seibu line so not hard to get to at all.
honestly, if your friend wants a proper christmas setup and not just a mall backdrop, try Studio Fam in yokohama. they do these really detailed seasonal sets with fake snow and a full tree, and they're used to shooting families with kids so they're patient. it's a bit of a trek from central tokyo but the photos come out way more polished than those quick mall ones.
another option is PIC in daikanyama, they do a winter wonderland theme that's more minimalist and modern if that's their vibe. books up fast for december though so tell them to call now.
There's a place called Studio Palette in Nakameguro that does themed shoots year round, and their Christmas setup is actually pretty solid. They bring in real cedar branches and have a proper lighting setup that doesn't wash everyone out like the mall studios do. It's about 12,000 yen for a 45 minute session with digital files included, which is fair for the quality. They're on a side street off the main shopping drag, easy to find.
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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.