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want to meet at fmd_good Market Deli
want to meet at fmd_good The Spot
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Toyama Train Lines?
The first thing to know is that the coordinates you gave are actually in Tokyo, not Toyama. Toyama prefecture is a few hours northwest by shinkansen, so double check your maps before you book anything. Once you're actually up there, the local lines are mostly run by JR West and a private company called Toyama Chihou Railway, and they're nowhere near as chaotic as Tokyo's network. If you're set on small towns and villages, the JR Takayama Line heading into Gifu is your best bet for scenery, it hugs the river and mountains the whole way.
For practical navigation, skip the apps for a second and just grab a paper timetable at any station window, they're in Japanese but the numbers and times are easy to read, and station staff will circle the right train for you if you show them your destination in writing. The trains run hourly on most rural lines, so missing one can mean a long wait, but the stations themselves are tiny and safe to hang around in, often with vending machines and a bench. Also, buy a rechargeable IC card like Suica or Icoca before you leave Tokyo, it works on all the regional lines up there and saves you fumbling for exact change on the bus connections to the really remote spots.
yeah those coords are tokyo, shinjuku area actually. toyama city is a whole different prefecture, like 3 hours on the hokuriku shinkansen. def fix your map before you go.
once you're really up there, my tip is to use the local "toyama chiho railway" over JR for the rural stuff. cheaper and way more charming. get the one-day pass at the station, it covers most of the little lines and some buses too.
for the tiny stops, don't overthink it. just show the station guy a note with your destination, they'll scribble the transfer time on a post-it. worst case you wait 40 min at a platform with a vending machine, honestly not bad. and the takayama line scenery is the real payoff, so don't stress the clock too much.
Hyperdia is your best friend. Seriously. It's a website and app that shows all train routes and times across Japan. Input your starting point (those coordinates you gave) and your destination, and it'll spit out the best route, including transfers. Don't be afraid to use it for even short hops; it'll show you which lines are fastest and least crowded. Getting lost is way less likely with Hyperdia. Plus, Japanese train stations are usually pretty well-signposted, even if the signs are mostly in Japanese. Just look for the Roman alphabet on the smaller signs to get the general direction to your platform. Have a great trip!
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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.