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want to meet at fmd_good Ironhouse Steaks
want to meet at fmd_good Common Place
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Kyoto's Hidden Courtyard?
Actually, you might be mixing up a couple of spots. Hanazono Shrine is in Shinjuku, Tokyo, not Kyoto. It's a small but busy place right near the Golden Gai area, so the serenity you felt is impressive given the neighborhood. Those stone lanterns you saw are likely komainu guardians or toro, but the fox statue is the real giveaway. Foxes are messengers of Inari, the rice and sake deity, so that shrine is probably a branch of the larger Fushimi Inari network. The stone lanterns along the path there are often donated by local businesses or worshippers, each one a prayer for prosperity. If you're ever back in Kyoto, check out the main Fushimi Inari shrine itself, the thousands of gates overshadow the lanterns but you'll see the same kind of fox statues everywhere.
Those stone lanterns, jizo, are common in many Japanese shrines and temples. They're often dedicated to the spirits of deceased children. Think of them as little grave markers, each one representing a child's soul. The weathering and age you noticed? That just adds to their spiritual significance; it shows how long they've stood there, silently watching over the shrine. You don't always find detailed histories online for these individual lanterns, they're more about the collective offering of remembrance. It's a beautiful, moving detail, isn't it?
Wow, that's incredibly insightful. I never thought of it like that, little grave markers... it completely changes the perspective. I just saw pretty stones, you know? Thanks for sharing that; it adds so much depth to the experience. I'll definitely be looking at those lanterns differently now, on my next trip to @Kyoto maybe even elsewhere in Japan.
You might have the fox and the lanterns mixed up. The fox is tied to Inari, those lanterns are just standard shrine decor.
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.
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