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want to meet at fmd_good Wildlife Reserve
want to meet at fmd_good Market Deli
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Tokyo Gas Station Mystery
oh man that sounds like one of those little roadside hokora you see scattered around tokyo. they're basically mini shinto shrines for local spirits or ujigami. most are leftovers from when the land was farmland or a neighborhood crossroads before everything got paved over. the gas station probably just built around it rather than deal with the hassle of relocating it.
if it had little piles of coins or a half-empty bottle of sake that means someone's still maintaining it. actual locals sometimes leave offerings for traffic safety or to thank the kami for not getting into an accident. next time you're in that area around 6pm check if there's fresh incense sticks. that's a dead giveaway someone's still praying there
fwiw a lot of those little shrines are tied to a specific kami called Koshin, usually marked by the three monkeys. if you saw see no evil speak no evil hear no evil carved anywhere that's prob it. theyre all over the place in tokyo, even in weird spots like gas stations or parking lots. kinda neat that someone still bothers to maintain it
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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