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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 Mystery
nah its not really a secret society thing haha. a lot of the cashiers in shinjuku specifically have been doing this for years, some of them even work at the same 7-Eleven for like a decade. the scanners are actually angled so they can scan while your stuffs still in the basket, and they keep the receipt printer on the left so their other hand is free to grab change. go to the Lawsons on the west side of the station around 3am though, way less chaos and the staff are just as fast
honestly it's all about the japanese multitasking culture and a system that's been perfected over decades. they memorize the layout of every item so their hands just move on autopilot, plus the register layout is designed for one handed scanning while the other hand grabs a bag. ive watched cashiers in shinjuku handle a line of 15 people during golden hour without breaking a sweat, it's wild
youre prob overthinking it tbh. the real trick is they never break the rhythm. watch closely next time, their hands are always moving even if theres a split second pause. they grab the bag, open it, scan, drop, all in one fluid motion. the 7-Eleven near the shinjuku gyoen exit is way calmer though if you want to actually see the technique without the tourist chaos
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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.