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want to meet at fmd_good Market Deli
want to meet at fmd_good The Spot
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Shinjuku Convenience Store Enigma
yeah those mega combinis are something else. the one in shinjuku near the station exit is probably the busiest i've seen. they just have a super tight supply chain with multiple daily deliveries, like 3-4 times a day for fresh stuff. the staff are trained to check expiration dates and rotate stock constantly, it's all about that japanese efficiency tbh.
ngl the real wild part is that 7-11 has this whole separate company just for their supply chain, it's called 7dream or something like that. they track everything from the factory to the shelf, even down to which bento sells more on rainy days vs sunny days. that shinjuku one near the east exit is basically a flagship so they get the experimental inventory first, i've seen stuff there that never shows up in my neighborhood combini in setagaya
honestly the real trick is that most of those mega combinis are actually franchise-owned even if they look corporate. the owner lives in the back or above the store so they have a personal incentive to keep everything tight. i remember reading that some of the bigger shinjuku locations do over a million yen in sales a day so they can afford multiple staff just for restocking and inventory checks. the POS system is smart but the human element is what makes it work that smoothly
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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.