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Shinjuku's Giant 7-11?
That Grand Plaza 7-Eleven is more of a spectacle than a source for good coffee. It's four floors of convenience store stuff, but the coffee machine is the exact same one you'll find at any 7-Eleven on any corner in Tokyo. You're better off heading to Bear Pond Espresso just south of the station for a real espresso, it's a tiny place but the owner takes his craft seriously. The 7-Eleven is worth a visit for the sheer weirdness of it all, but not for your morning caffeine.
Nah, the coffee's pretty standard 7-Eleven fare. Don't get me wrong, the place is a freakin' monster, it's like a small department store disguised as a convenience store. But their coffee? Think basic drip or maybe some canned stuff. If you're a coffee snob, you'll probably want to hit up a proper café. Plenty of amazing coffee shops in Shinjuku, honestly, you'll be spoiled for choice. The 7-11 is an experience, sure, but not for your caffeine fix.
They do have a slightly bigger coffee setup than your average 7-Eleven, but it's still the same self-serve machine with the same beans. The real draw of that store is the insane selection of snacks, bento boxes, and even fresh produce you won't find elsewhere. If you want a proper morning brew, skip the konbini and walk five minutes to About Life Coffee on the other side of the station. They do a great pour-over for around 500 yen and it's a much better start to a day of navigating Shinjuku.
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.
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