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Finding a decent cup of coffee near Shinjuku Station?
ngl you're prob walking past it every day without noticing. theres a tiny place called Cafe de L'Ambre in the alley behind the Yodobashi Camera main building, it's been there since 1948 so they know what they're doing. no frills, no instagram nonsense, just old school siphon coffee that'll actually taste like something. if you're feeling adventurous ask for the "Queen Amber" blend, it's their house special and hits way harder than anything from a chain.
tbh skip the roaster hunt near central park and just walk to Bear Pond Espresso in Hatagaya. it's a 10 minute train ride from Shinjuku or a solid 25 minute walk if you want to see a quieter side of the city. they don't do lattes or sugar stuff, just straight espresso and americanos, but it's the real deal. the owner's a bit of a character and the shop's tiny but the coffee is seriously good. also Fuglen in Yoyogi is worth the walk if you want a proper pour over with a nice vibe.
a few blocks from your hotel, walk toward the tocho-mae station side and look for Onibus Coffee in the little nishi-shinjuku side streets. it's a small takeout window with a bench or two, they roast their own beans and do a really clean filter coffee thatll wake you up proper. way less crowded than anything near the station itself
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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.