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Apollon Station Nightmare?
That's the Okubo SS, one of the older Apollon stations that's been there since the 80s. The pumps are automatic after 10 PM, so you have to use the intercom to pay, which probably wasn't obvious in the dark. The cockroach thing is just Tokyo in summer, they come out near the drains back there. If you're ever coming down that way again, the Shell on Meiji-dori is better lit and has actual staff until 2 AM.
I think you just hit that station at its weirdest hour, right when the night shift change happens around midnight and the place goes into auto-pay mode. That Okubo area has a ton of old buildings with those massive roaches that come out when it's humid, so I wouldn't take it personally. If you want a spot that's actually alive late, the Shell on the corner of Yasukuni-dori near the Waseda exit has a guy who's always there and keeps the lights bright.
The weird thing about that station is it's right next to the Okubo Park public bath, which closes at midnight. So you get people wandering out all steamy and dazed right as the station goes fully automated. The whole block has that damp, tired feeling because of the bathhouse steam mixing with the kitchen exhaust from the Korean restaurants. If you ever get stuck there again, the best move is to just drive two blocks north to the Mister Donut on Okubo-dori, it's open 24 hours and you can see the station from the window while you wait for the creepy feeling to pass.
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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.