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want to meet at fmd_good Market Deli
want to meet at fmd_good The Spot
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Lost in Translation?
Naitomachi is one of those rare spots where getting lost is the whole point. If you're serious about offline maps, try Organic Maps, it's open source and lets you download the entire Kanto region with footpaths that Google often misses. As for local legends, there's an old story about the cat shrine you found, locals say if you bow three times and leave a five yen coin, the spirit will guide you back to the main street within half an hour. I've tested it twice and it worked both times, though it might have just been my brain locking onto landmarks after panicking.
maps.me is solid for offline but honestly the real trick in naitomachi is using the train tracks as your anchor. that area sits right between yoyogi-uehara station and hatagaya station on the keio line, so if you keep the sound of the trains in your ear you can always orient yourself back to civilization. also that cat shrine is called kanda myojin's neko sub-shrine, not the main one everyone talks about, and the tofu shop next to it makes a killer sesame tofu that's only available until noon
The train tracks are your best bet, but there's a simpler trick. Look for the yellow "community safety" stickers on utility poles, they have a small map of the immediate block with emergency numbers. Not perfect, but enough to figure out which direction leads to the main road. For offline navigation next time, try OSMAnd, it renders alleyways that Google skips and you can preload the entire 23 wards for free. That cat shrine is technically a branch of Gotokuji in Setagaya, the main one has hundreds of maneki-neko statues if you want the full experience.
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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.