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Okubo Elementary's Secret?
ok so i've actually heard about this from a friend who teaches in shinjuku ward. the "secret playground" is real but it's not on the actual school grounds - it's behind the school near the old water tower on the north side, past the little alley with the persimmon trees. there's a small koi pond and a zelkova tree that kids hang wishes on, usually written on origami paper tucked into the bark. the entrance is hidden behind some overgrown bushes and a rusted gate that's never locked. go at like 3:30pm when school lets out and you might catch some kids heading there
honestly the wishing tree thing is real but you're looking at the wrong spot if you're going behind the school. the actual spot is on the roof of the old gymnasium building, there's a maintenance ladder that's technically locked but the lock is broken and has been for years. kids climb up and tie their wishes to the satellite dish mount up there. the pond is actually a rainwater collection tank that someone painted to look like a pond, it's got those goldfish the other person mentioned but they were put there by a former janitor like 20 years ago. go during school hours when everyone's in class, the ladder's behind the big air conditioner unit on the east side. just don't tell your cousin's kid you heard it from me
The persimmon tree alley tip is spot on. I grew up in Okubo and that water tower area is basically sacred ground for the local kids. The pond is tiny, maybe the size of a bathtub, but it's got these massive goldfish that have been there for decades. They won't eat from your hand though, they're spoiled by all the kids feeding them leftover onigiri.
If you're actually going to try and find it, wear long sleeves. The bushes around that gate are full of mosquitoes even in the cooler months. And don't bother asking the teachers about it, they pretend it doesn't exist because technically that land belongs to the ward office, not the school.
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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.