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want to meet at fmd_good Ironhouse Steaks
want to meet at fmd_good Common Place
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Hyakuninchō Mysteries?
I've always found the stretch along the old Waseda-dori tram line to be the creepiest part, not because of any ghost story but because of the silence. Most of Tokyo hums, but that specific block near the Hyakunincho intersection goes dead quiet around 10 p.m., like someone hit a mute button. There's a narrow gap between two apartment buildings there, just wide enough for one person to slip through, that supposedly leads to a tiny plot of land no one claims on any tax record. I tried to find it once and ended up in someone's private garden, so take that with a grain of salt.
honestly the creepiest thing in hyakuninchō isn't a ghost story it's the old kamikaze pilot memorial tucked behind the convenience store on the main drag. most people walk right past it because it's just a small stone with faded kanji but there's a bench there that locals avoid sitting on at night. i heard from a neighbor that some old woman leaves flowers there every anniversary of the war's end and she swears she hears footsteps on the gravel when no one's around. the whole area around it has this weird heavy stillness even during the day, like the air's thicker there or something. if you want atmospheric just stand by that bench around midnight and see if you feel like leaving
Not the haunted alleyway type, but there's a story about the old public bathhouse that used to be on the narrow street behind the post office. It closed in the late 90s, and some folks claim you can still hear water dripping inside on humid nights, even though the pipes were supposedly drained years ago. The building's been sealed up with corrugated metal, but you can see the faded "yu" character on the tile if you look from the right angle. I'd try going around dusk, that's when the residential streets get really quiet and the shadows stretch out weirdly between the houses.
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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.