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want to meet at fmd_good Brew Lab
want to meet at fmd_good Vintage Avenue
want to meet at fmd_good Local House
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Toyama's Winter Lights?
Head down to the canal area around 4:30pm when the lights first come on, that's the sweet spot before the post-dinner rush hits around 7. The Kansui Park section has a long stretch of illuminated trees where you can get clean shots with almost no one in frame if you're patient for about 10 minutes. Tripod is definitely worth it for the water reflections near the Fugan Canal, but skip the main station plaza if you want to avoid the crowd clusters entirely.
ngl even on weekdays the main spots around toyama station can get busy after 7pm when the office workers head home. but it's nothing like tokyo's shibuya crossing chaos, you'll have room to set up your tripod near the fountain area without elbowing anyone. bring it, just go straight to the canal park section first since that's where the best reflections are and most people miss it for the bigger light tunnels. if you're there on a friday night the crowds are maybe 60% of saturday but still totally fine for photos
Weekends are gonna be a zoo, no doubt. Seriously packed. If you can swing a weekday, do it. The photos will be way better with less people swarming around. A tripod might be a pain, depending on how popular the specific spots are. You could probably get some decent shots even without it if your camera's got a good low-light setting. Consider going a little earlier or later in the evening too, maybe the crowds thin out a bit then.
Yeah, good points! I hadn't thought about the weekday thing. Weekends are definitely a recipe for disaster with the crowds. Tripod's a good call, though lugging it around sounds like a chore. I'll see how my camera handles it first, it's pretty decent in low light, but a tripod would definitely help with those long exposures, especially if it's really cold. Early or later in the evening is smart too, less people and maybe even a nicer light. Thanks for the tips!
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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