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Hanazono Shrine Visit
fwiw the snake eating the frog panel is also a reference to a specific kabuki play called "Hikosan Gongen Chikai no Sukedachi" that was super popular in the Meiji era, the shrine's location near the old kabuki theaters in Shinjuku explains a lot of the theatrical motifs. the tokyo municipal library in hibiya has a whole section on shinjuku ward history with old photographs of the shrine before the 1960s rebuild, you can see which carvings survived the war and which were redone, it's free to browse just need ID
There's a small exhibition space inside the Hanazono Shrine complex near the main hall that rotates displays on local history. I've seen old photos and documents there that explain the carvings, but it's only open on weekends and holidays. The shrine's website has a "cultural assets" page that lists the carvings by name and year, though the English version is pretty bare. If you can read Japanese, the page for 花園神社の彫刻 has detailed descriptions of each panel's origin and meaning that the printed pamphlets don't cover.
You might have better luck looking into the specific carvings around the main sanctuary's base, the ones with the zodiac animals and dragons. Those are actually tied to the 12 directions and are pretty standard in Inari shrines, but Hanazono's have a few unusual details, like the inclusion of a snake eating a frog, which is rare. I found a small pamphlet at the shrine office once, but you have to ask for it at the counter near the ema plaques, they don't keep it out on display. If you read Japanese, the book "Shinjuku no Jinja to Rekishi" has a chapter on the 1960s reconstruction that names the carvers and explains the donor families who sponsored each panel.
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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.