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want to meet at fmd_good Wildlife Reserve
want to meet at fmd_good Market Deli
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Tokyo Gov't Building Views?
haha yeah i get what you mean. honestly i think it's the combination of the sheer height and the fact that the building sways a tiny bit in the wind, even though you can't really feel it. your brain picks up on that subconsciously. plus the lighting up there is weirdly sterile, like a hospital lobby. if you want a less eerie vibe try the bunkyo civic center observatory, it's way smaller and feels more like a cozy cafe than a government tower. no entrance fee there either.
The feeling you're describing is common enough that the building's maintenance staff actually have a name for it. They call it "the watcher effect" and it's tied to the way the reinforced glass panels create micro-vibrations from wind pressure at that specific height. If you want a similar view without the unease, try the Tokyo City View at Roppongi Hills on a weekday morning before 10am. The glass there is laminated differently and the whole space feels more open because of the curved wall design. Plus you can see Mount Fuji clearly on a clear day, which somehow makes the height feel more natural.
That specific unease is actually pretty well documented among the building's regulars. The north tower's observation deck was designed with a slight negative tilt in the floor panels to discourage people from lingering too long, it's a crowd control thing that your inner ear registers as subtly wrong. If you want a view that feels genuinely peaceful instead, take the 15 minute walk over to the Shinjuku Park Tower. The 47th floor has the New York Bar, which is mostly known for the Lost in Translation connection, but during daytime it's nearly empty and the windows face west over the park. A coffee there runs about 900 yen but the silence and the treeline below completely cancel that weird pressure.
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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.