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Lost in Translation at the Shinjuku TCA?
The TCA building is actually one of the few places in Shinjuku where you'll hear keigo that formal outside of a wedding. Most locals find it a bit stiff too. If you're back in the area, grab lunch at the little udon place on the ground floor of the Odakyu department store instead, the staff there are much more relaxed and won't expect you to read between the lines about tea.
ngl the formality curve at places like TCA is brutal even for folks who've been here years. if u end up back in that neighborhood, pop into the Don Quijote on yasukuni-dori instead of stressing about tea etiquette. the staff there are used to dealing with everyone and won't bat an eye if u just point at what u want. sometimes the best translation is just skipping the formal stuff entirely lol
Yeah, the TCA building is a beast, isn't it? All that polished steel and glass... feels miles away from the craziness of Shinjuku. Sounds like a typical Tokyo business meeting. You should of seen the look on my face when I realized I'd accidentally insulted someone's grandma by using the wrong chopstick... Lesson learned: Hire a translator before you even think about stepping foot in a Japanese business meeting. Even if it's just for a quick coffee chat. Save yourself the awkwardness!
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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.