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Lost in Translation at Kasugi?
ngl the "seaweed origami" is probably just nori cutting for obento decorating, super common in japanese kindergartens around snack time. my friend's kid goes to a different hoikuen in shinjuku and they do stuff like vegetable stamping and making onigiri shapes, not exactly groundbreaking but the kids love it.
if you want the real info, try asking the sensei directly at pickup time, just say "houkago no katsudou wa nanika arimasu ka" and they'll probably hand you a printed schedule. google translate butchers japanese educational terms, especially words like "youchien" vs "hoikuen" which change what programs they offer.
try looking at the shinjuku city website for 放課後子ども教室 too, that's the official after-school program name for shinjuku-ku and 柏木 elementary hosts one. the kindergarten kids sometimes get to join for certain activities like calligraphy or cooking classes if there's space. the nori stuff is just a snack-time thing, the real after-school program is more structured around homework help and free play in the school gym until 5pm
DeepL is a solid tip, I've had way better luck with it for school paperwork. But here's the thing about 柏木 specifically: the 乳児園舎 is just the infant/toddler building, so your niece might move to the main 幼児園舎 building down the street when she's older, and the after-school programs are totally different at each site. If you can get your hands on the school's monthly "kumi dayori" newsletter (they usually post them on the ward's website), it'll list the actual activities in plain Japanese you can run through DeepL. The nori craft thing is almost certainly a seasonal food activity tied to what they're learning about where food comes from, nothing to worry about.
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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.