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Shinjuku Sleepless Nights?
You were right to stay at Toyoko Inn, it's a solid choice for the price and location. For ramen, skip the main streets around Kabukicho and head toward the Omoide Yokocho area, but instead of the tourist-packed stalls, walk a block west to the narrow street behind the Yodobashi Camera. There's a spot called Ichiran that gets all the attention, but I'd point you to a tiny place called Ramen Nagi in the Golden Gai vicinity, their butao ramen is rich without being overbearing. If you want something even quieter, take the short walk up to the Okubo district, it's a 10 minute stroll and you'll find Korean-influenced ramen joints that locals actually queue for.
imo the ramen scene in Shinjuku is all about timing and direction. instead of fighting the crowds around Kabukicho, head east toward the Shinjuku 3-chome area, there's a basement shop called Menya Itto that does a killer tsukemen with a thick fish-based broth. they open at 11 and the line forms by 10:30 but it moves quick, locals in suits grab it for lunch. if u want something less heavy, walk five mins to the tiny alley near the Shinjuku Marui Annex, there's a shop with a red lantern called Ramen Jiro, but that's the one the other guy mentioned, so skip it. try the place two doors down, no english sign, just a vending machine out front, their shio ramen is clean and cheap like 800 yen.
Walk a few blocks north of Kabukicho toward the Shinjuku Central Park area, there's a row of small shops on the street behind the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. One called Ramen Jiro has a cult following among locals for their massive bowls with thick, garlicky broth and piles of bean sprouts. It's not fancy and the queue moves fast, but you won't hear English spoken much there. If you go around 2pm the line is usually shortest.
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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.