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Hanazono Shrine's Secret?
The stone foxes at Hanazono are indeed kitsune, Inari's messengers, and they're common at any shrine with an Inari connection. But the ones at Hanazono are interesting because some of them are actually quite old, dating back to the late Edo period, and a few have little red bibs tied around their necks. Locals sometimes dress them up during special festivals or when making a specific wish, it's a bit of a tradition you don't see everywhere. If you want to see a really striking set of them, head to the small Inari shrine tucked behind the main hall, there are maybe a dozen of them lined up in a row, each with a slightly different expression.
There's a small wooden plaque near the entrance to the shrine office that lists the names of the families who donated each of the older fox statues. It's all in Japanese and easy to walk past, but it gives a sense of the local community that's kept them maintained for generations. The foxes with the red bibs are usually ones that had a specific prayer attached to them, and people replace the bib when their wish comes true. If you go back on a Sunday morning during the flea market, you might catch an old woman or two freshening up the bibs with a little bow.
You might have noticed some of the foxes are holding different things in their mouths. One might have a key, another a scroll or a jewel. Each object has its own meaning, the key is for unlocking blessings, the scroll represents wisdom, the jewel is for wealth. It's a little detail that's easy to miss if you're just glancing at them. Next time you're at a shrine with a row of them, see if you can spot which one is holding what, it's like a little puzzle.
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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.