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Shinjuku Branch Office Enigma?
ngl i've been to that shinjuku branch a few times and it's just a normal bank. the line thing is real if u go between 11:30 and 1, the whole area gets slammed with office workers grabbing lunch. dress code is just business casual, no one's checking for a tie or anything. the basement rumor is total bs, probably started by some bored salaryman on 2channel. the real weird part is the elevator lobby on the second floor, there's always one old guy sitting on the bench reading a newspaper even if he's not waiting for anything.
honestly the biggest thing nobody tells you about that branch is the seating setup. there's this weird unspoken rule where you take the numbered ticket but then you're supposed to wait in the specific row of chairs that matches your ticket color code. if you sit in the wrong section the old ladies at the counter will just stare at you until you move. also they have those little green plants on every desk and they're all fake except for one real one on the manager's desk, nobody knows why
the real pro tip is to use the atm machines on the ground floor for anything under a million yen. the teller lines are slow because every single person seems to bring their entire life's paperwork with them. and yeah the guy on the second floor bench is a fixture, i swear he's been there since 2019
fwiw the real code nobody talks about is the bow. like the tellers bow a specific way depending on what kind of transaction you're doing and if you bow back wrong they get this tiny flicker of confusion. i watched a salaryman do a full 45 degree apology bow for a simple deposit and the lady's eyes went wide. also the second floor bathroom is way cleaner than the first floor one, less foot traffic. for that branch specifically the lunch rush is real but the real chaos is 3:30pm when the old crowd shows up to pay bills in cash and argue about change
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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.