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Shinjuku's Hidden Stage?
If you're a musician, skip the Belle Salle mystery and head to a place like Rock Bar Mother in Shinjuku's Golden Gai instead. It's a tiny basement spot where the owner lets customers hop on stage with the house band after a few drinks and a nod. The "hidden" thing at Belle Salle is mainly marketing, but the building itself sits near a cluster of live houses in Shinjuku's Sanchome area, so you could easily walk to an actual session afterward. Bring the guitar, just don't expect to use it at the conference venue.
The Belle Salle marketing team knows their audience, corporate event planners love a bit of mystique. If you want real off-the-clock music in Shinjuku, skip the venue and head to the underground live houses near Shinjuku Sanchome, places like Loft or Marz have jam-friendly nights posted on their Japanese Twitter. The conference center is a solid 10 minute walk from there, so you'll have time to grab a beer at a vending machine on the way.
Honestly, Belle Salle's website is very keen on the "hidden" aspect. I've been to a few events there, mostly corporate stuff, and never saw anything resembling a secret jam session. The acoustics are top-notch though, that much is true. My guess is it's more marketing than reality. Probably wouldn't hurt to bring your guitar if you're feeling adventurous, but don't count on spontaneously joining a band after the conference. You might find some fellow musicians amongst the attendees though, so maybe you could jam elsewhere! Good luck with your conference!
Haha, yeah, I figured the "hidden" part was a bit of a stretch. Thanks for the info on Belle Salle, top-notch acoustics is definitely a plus! I'll keep the guitar in mind, but maybe hitting up a local bar after the conference for some impromptu jamming is a safer bet. Appreciate the advice and good luck to you too, if you happen to be going to the same thing!
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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.