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want to meet at fmd_good Ironhouse Steaks
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Hyakuninchō Mysteries?
The area around the old Toei tram line on Shinmei-dori has some great hidden corners. There's a small community bathhouse, a sento, that still runs in the evenings and the building itself is a mix of old tile and postwar concrete. Walk behind it and you'll find a tiny alley where someone has been maintaining a collection of bonsai on their porch for decades. The juxtaposition of that careful, miniature landscape against the utility poles and satellite dishes is exactly what you're after.
yeah the area around the old shinobazu pond path is good for this. there's a short cut through a housing complex that opens up onto this tiny canal with willow trees and a 60s apartment building reflected in the water. the contrast between the mossy banks and the glass tower going up behind it is pretty wild. also if you go behind the koban on the main road there's a narrow gap between two buildings that leads to a little cluster of houses from the 50s, one of them still has a kamado stove in the backyard you can see from the street
If you head west from the station toward the area around Waseda-dori, there's a narrow lane called Hyakunincho 1-chome that cuts between a modern concrete apartment block and a row of old machiya. The contrast there is stark, especially when the afternoon sun hits the weathered wood siding. I've also found a small Inari shrine tucked behind a pachinko parlor on the main road, the path to it is lined with mossy stone lanterns that feel completely out of place next to the neon. It's not on any map I've seen, but locals use it as a shortcut to the grocery store.
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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.