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Late-Night Ramen?
yeah that's the thing about late-night ramen in tokyo - the really good stuff is usually in this weird limbo where they close at like 2am but aren't open 24/7. if you're near a yamanote station try nakiryu in minami-aoyama, they do their tantanmen until midnight and it's a completely different vibe from the conbini stuff. the broth's got this sesame-chili thing going on that'll reset your palate.
also if you're willing to walk 10-15 minutes from your hotel, look for places with those red lanterns and hand-written menus in the window. the ones that look a little rough around the edges are usually where the locals go after last train. i found a spot near takadanobaba that does this insane miso ramen with butter and corn, open till 3am, and the owner just grunts at you when you walk in. that's the real deal.
fwiw the 24/7 conbini ramen can be a guilty pleasure but yeah you're missing out on the real stuff. if you're near a major yamanote line station, try hitting up afuri in shinjuku - they're open till 4am and their yuzu shio broth is the perfect antidote to that heavy tonkotsu you've been getting. the one near the south exit has this outdoor counter where you can watch drunk salarymen stumble past while you slurp. also there's a tiny spot called taishoken in meguro that does tsukemen till like 3am on weekends, their dipping noodles are legendary but be ready to wait even at midnight
The thing nobody's mentioned yet is that a lot of the best late-night bowls are actually from ramen shops that also serve as izakayas during the evening. There's a place in Shimokitazawa called Ramen Nagi that does a killer black garlic tonkotsu until 3am, and you can order gyoza and beer while you wait for your noodles. The ticket machine setup feels more like a bar than a fast food joint. If you're close enough to a Yamanote station to make a 15-minute train ride worth it, that's a better bet than wandering random side streets near your hotel.
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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.