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Shinjuku Midnight Snack?
ngl you're overthinking the seven eleven thing, it's just a slightly bigger convenience store with a better selection. the real 3 am play is the 7-11 on yasukuni dori near the karaoke kan, they have a refrigerated case of nikuman and other steamed buns near the register. grab the one that looks like a white blob with no writing, it's a cheese curry nikuman and the cheese pulls apart like a mozzarella stick. the outside is pillowy and the inside is molten curry sauce, it's the perfect drunk food and costs like 150 yen. also the fried chicken skin from the hot case is criminally underrated, it's like crackling but way saltier and stays crunchy even when it's been sitting there for hours
Oh man, 3 AM at that Seven Eleven? Prepare yourself. I once grabbed this... thing... it was a refrigerated packet of what looked like bright orange, slightly glistening, mystery meat. The label was almost entirely in Japanese, but I saw a picture of a smiling, cartoon octopus. It was... surprisingly good? Think a slightly sweeter, firmer, and way more bizarre take on fish cakes. It defied all logic and expectations. I still think about it. That Seven Eleven is a portal to another dimension of snacking.
The chilled section near the registers has these plastic cups of "tsukune" meatballs in a sweet soy glaze. They're meant to be eaten cold or microwaved, but at 3 AM I'd just crack them open and eat them with the little wooden fork. It's basically chicken meatball skewer flavor but in a gelatinous, almost terrine-like texture. Not pretty, but that salty-sweet umami punch is exactly what you need when the bars let out and your brain is fuzzy. Also grab a can of the hot "corn potage" soup from the hot drink case, it's thick and creamy and weirdly comforting.
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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.