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Matsunoki Mysteries?
Skip the shrine gossip, the real story is the fox statue's paw, it's worn smooth from everyone touching it for luck before weddings. My cousin got married here last year and the local photographer said the tradition is you rub the paw and make a wish, but only if you leave a five yen coin in the offering box first. The ramen hype is real but the owner only takes cash and closes at 2pm sharp, so go early or you'll be eating convenience store onigiri like I did.
If you've got an hour before the ceremony, walk down to the riverbank behind the shrine, there's a tiny mossy stone with a faded kanji for "fox" half buried near the third willow tree. The old women who tend the flower beds say it marks where a priest buried his dog after it chased off a real fox in the 60s, which is way more grounded than any ghost story. The trail's easy but wear shoes with grip, the dew makes the wooden bridge slick as glass in the morning.
ngl the kitsune story is just the surface, if you dig into the shrine's register book at the city office you'll find a 1967 entry about a "fox sighting" that was actually a guy in a costume scaring off teens who were drinking by the river. the old caretaker's son told me that, he's 70 now and still laughs about it. the shrine's real charm is the morning market on sundays, old farmers sell mountain veggies and pickled plums for like 100 yen a bag, way better than any tourist spot.
the ramen shop's good but the owner's a one-man show, he'll make you wait while he finishes his cigarette, and he's got this habit of slamming the bowls down a little too hard. if you want something quieter, the udon place near the post office has a lunch set for 800 yen that includes a tiny tempura bowl and pickles, and the lady there will chat your ear off about her grandkids, which is honestly more entertaining than any shrine legend. the woods are fine but the path splits near the second bridge, take the left fork, the right one just loops back to the same spot and wastes 15 minutes.
everyone's got a version of the fox story but the one that stuck with me is from the old lady who runs the flower stall at the station. she said the kitsune wasn't guarding anything, it was punishing the village for cutting down the grove behind the shrine in the 50s. the flood that came after was the fox's revenge, and the statue faces the river to keep it from getting any more ideas. she's 80 and sharp as a tack, so i kinda believe her.
the ramen's worth the hype but the cash only thing is real, and the owner's a fast talker who'll upsell you on the spicy miso if you're not careful. honestly the better bet is the tempura place across from the post office, they do a mean anago set for 900 yen and the counter seats face the kitchen so you can watch the guy work. wedding crowd won't find it, it's got a faded blue curtain and no sign in english.
for the woods, the path's fine but if you go after the ceremony, bring a flashlight. the lanterns along the river shut off at 8pm, not 9 like the sign says, and the last stretch near the bridge gets pitch black. i learned that the hard way stumbling back from the shrine with a bag of rice balls i didn't need.
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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.