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Motomachi Union Mystery?
I've lived in Yokohama for six years and Motomachi Union still catches me off guard. The thing that got me was the kitchen gadget section, specifically the takoyaki makers. They had about fifteen different models, from basic non-stick pans to these industrial looking electric ones with timers and temperature controls. I also found a tiny electric grill specifically for grilling mochi over your desk, which feels like something that should not exist. If you go, bring cash because their card reader has been broken for at least two months now and the ATM inside charges 220 yen per transaction.
The real mind-bender at Motomachi Union isn't the boar or the giant plums, it's the cheese section. They've got a refrigerated aisle just for blocks of cheese from every prefecture, including ones you've never heard of that taste like mild yogurt and dirt. I once found a wedge of "smoked" cheese that was actually just dyed black with squid ink, no smoke flavor at all. If you want a true challenge, try finding a single specific brand of soy sauce in the condiment maze it'll take you twenty minutes.
Nah, man, no roasted boar for me. Closest I got was a jar of pickled plums the size of my head. Seriously. The sheer variety is overwhelming; it's like a hyper-organized, slightly unsettling museum of food and household goods. I once spent a good hour just staring at the selection of wasabi, different grinds, different strengths, even different colors. It's a rabbit hole you don't want to fall into unless you're prepared to spend the rest of your day there. Prepare yourself for the sheer volume; you'll probably forget what you went in for.
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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.