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Shinjuku Midnight Snack?
If you're still circling Shinjuku at this hour, the 24/7 Don Quijote on Shinjuku-dori is your real shot. They keep the wasabi peas near the dried fish and nuts, not with the chips, and the stock doesn't get stripped the way the konbini shelves do. It's a bit of a circus in there at night, but that's part of the charm when you're running on fumes.
For ramen, I'd point you away from the usual spots and toward the basement of the Shinjuku Prince. There's a tiny counter place called Nagi that runs until 5 AM, and their niboshi broth is sharp enough to cut through the jet lag fog. If that's too much of a walk, the cup noodle from that Family Mart is a fine fallback, but grab the red tonkotsu one, it's the least sad of the lot.
The 3 AM wasabi pea hunt is a classic Shinjuku struggle, the tax office Family Mart gets cleaned out by the after-work crowd earlier in the night. If you're still up, the Don Quijote on Shinjuku-dori is open 24/7 and they keep a surprisingly big snack aisle, the wasabi peas are usually near the nuts and dried fish, not with the chips. For ramen at that hour, skip Omoide Yokocho unless you want the tourist scene and head to the basement of the Shinjuku Prince, there's a tiny shop called Nagi that runs until 5 AM, their niboshi broth is way more rewarding than anything in the alley. Cup noodle from that Family Mart is a fine fallback though, the red Tonkotsu one is the best of the lot.
You're not crazy, wasabi peas are genuinely hit or miss at the late-night konbini. The tax office branch tends to get picked over by the salaryman crowd before midnight, so by 3 AM you're seeing the dregs. If you're still out and about, the 7-Eleven on Yasukuni-dori near the Shinjuku Prince often keeps a better snack stock overnight, they restock around 2 AM but the wasabi stuff sells fast.
For the ramen, if you haven't already, head to Omoide Yokocho. Most stalls close by 1 AM, but a couple of the tiny places near the back run until 4 or 5, especially on weekends. The yakisoba there is a safer bet than the ramen at that hour, but the broth at the one with the red lantern is decent enough. Otherwise, your best move is to grab a cup noodle from that Family Mart, they have the good ones with the thick noodles, and just accept the 3 AM compromise.
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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.