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Shinjuku Midnight Run?
The hype is real, but it's less about the bento and more about the timing. After midnight, the store restocks the fried chicken and oden, and that's when the salarymen stumble in for a late-night fix. I once saw a guy buy a single banana and a can of Strong Zero, then eat the banana on the sidewalk like it was a religious ritual. Honestly, the weirdest stuff is the seasonal KitKats that don't make sense, like wasabi or purple sweet potato, sitting next to the usual snacks. If you want real chaos, walk over to the Don Quijote on the main drag, it's open 24/7 and the aisles are a full-on carnival at 3 am.
skip the hype, the okubo 7-11 is fine but the real move is heading to the family mart on the yasukuni-dori side, they got a mini ramen bar in the corner and the staff will actually warm up the chashu for u at 3am. weirdest thing i've seen there was a whole display of konyaku blocks next to the condoms, like who's buying that combo. if ur jetlagged anyway, walk to the sunroute plaza hotel lobby, the vending machines there sell hot canned corn soup and it hits different when ur half dead.
yeah it's a vibe but honestly the real weirdness is the stuff thats not even food, like i once saw a full mini desk fan and a single-pack of underwear sitting by the registers at like 2am. also the oden broth gets this weird skin on top if you're late enough, still tastes fine tho. if ur brave, hit the 100 yen bakery next to the station instead, theyre restocking around 4 and the melon pan is still warm.
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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.