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want to meet at fmd_good Wildlife Reserve
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Shinjuku Sleep
The real trick with Kabukicho vending machines is figuring out which ones are actually maintained and which ones have been sitting there since the 90s. The ones selling "mystery" items near the Love Hotel Hill area are mostly just leftover stock from old adult shops that closed down. If you want to see something truly strange, check the vending machine inside the Don Quijote on the main street, it has a section selling gold leaf masks and tiny bottles of wasabi next to a slot for used phones.
lol yeah those machines are a trip. some of them are just straight up selling used panties or weird sex toys, it's not a secret or anything. the ones with the creepy dolls are usually just bad luck charms or something, i think it's a shinto thing? idk, i wouldn't buy one though. stick to the drink machines near the station, way safer
Those machines are mostly for novelty and gag items, but the ones you're really wondering about are in the back alleys off Omoide Yokocho, not the main strip. You'll find used school uniforms, dubious "health" drinks, and little plastic toys that are definitely not for kids. The rule of thumb in Kabukicho is if a vending machine looks too weird to be real, it's probably a front for something else entirely.
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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.