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Finding a decent coffee
If you're near Shinjuku Gyoen, the 7-Eleven right by Exit C1 of Shinjuku-gyoenmae station is usually calmer than the ones closer to the garden gates. The worst window is 11:30 to 1, when every office worker in the area descends at once. I'd aim for around 2:30 to 4 in the afternoon, the post-lunch lull is real and you'll actually get a seat by the window.
Weekday afternoons around 3 are solid, but the real trick is checking whether it's a national holiday. On days like Sports Day in October or Vernal Equinox in March, the Shinjuku Gyoen gates pull in way more people than a normal weekday, and every konbini within a ten minute walk gets slammed from opening until close. A random Tuesday in February at 2pm is about as empty as that 7-Eleven ever gets.
The Shinjuku Gyoen area is tricky because the crowds shift depending on which side of the park you're on. The 7-Elevens near the Sendagaya and Yoyogi gates pick up a different crowd than the Shinjuku-gyoenmae side, mostly joggers and families rather than office workers, so the timing is a bit more forgiving. Weekday mornings around 7 to 8:30 are genuinely calm there, and if you go on a rainy day you'll basically have the place to yourself. One thing worth knowing, the iced coffee at 7-Eleven is decent but the hot drip is cheaper and honestly better, especially if you're not in a rush.
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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.