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Lost my lunchbox?
honestly, the lost and found at okubo elementary is prob just a cardboard box in the janitor's closet by the gym entrance. i went to a reunion there a few years back and the caretaker was this old guy who remembered every kid's name. if anyone knows where old stuff went, it's him. also, if you're craving nostalgia after, the melon pan at the bakery on the corner of the main street is still the same recipe from twenty years ago.
Earlier this year there was a small exhibit in the school library for the 50th anniversary, old photos and some forgotten items from the storage room. Might be worth asking if your lunchbox ended up in that collection rather than the lost and found. The librarian, Mrs. Sato, has been there for decades and keeps meticulous records of everything that goes into storage. If you're lucky, it might be sitting in a box labeled with your graduating class year.
I'd bet the school has a storage closet somewhere that hasn't been touched in years. Japanese schools are notorious for holding onto random stuff, especially if it ended up in the teachers' office instead of the main lost and found. Try checking with the vice principal's office specifically, they often have a drawer or shelf for items that seemed too personal to toss. And if you're near the school around lunchtime, the ramen shop two blocks south on Route 14 still does that thick shoyu broth you probably remember from childhood.
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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.