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want to meet at fmd_good Ironhouse Steaks
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Tokyo Hospital Mystery
fwiw the kissaten talk is on point but skip the yuzu tea, the owner's actual specialty is the houjicha with a tiny piece of dark chocolate on the side. she told me once the old woman's husband was a paper merchant who died in the 1962 typhoon, not in the hospital, which is why she never finds him. that's why the basement smells like old paper, apparently he used to store samples there. also if you're superstitious just take the elevator, the east stairwell flicker is just a bad ballast, but the west one has that weird draft that smells like mothballs and nobody can explain that one.
people always talk about the ghost but nobody mentions the actual vibe of that place, which is way more unsettling. the older wing has these tiny windows that don't open and the air gets so still it's like the building's holding its breath. if u want a real story, ask the guy who runs the flower stall by the station exit, he's been there forever and he'll tell u about the time he delivered chrysanthemums to the hospital at 6 a.m. and saw the records room lights on, which is impossible because that annex was locked up since the 80s. he just shrugged and said it's probably the paper merchant's wife keeping the place tidy. also the curry set is good but get the miso soup too, it's the only thing on the menu that tastes homemade
The shrine story keeps getting passed around, so there's probably a real kernel to it. I grew up in Omori and my mom used to work at a clinic near the hospital, she said the older nurses would occasionally leave a thermos of hot tea by the records room door on winter nights, not for the ghost exactly, more out of habit. If you're already in the area, the Kissaten on the shopping street, the one with the blue sign, does a decent coffee and the owner is a retired nurse from the Red Cross, she'll tell you the whole history over a slice of castella without any ghost talk. Honestly, the weirdest part of that hospital isn't the stories, it's the basement corridor that smells like old paper and disinfectant, which is way creepier to me than any kindly apparition.
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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.