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Hanazono Shrine's Secret?
another thing about that back area, its where the local cats hang out. like 5 or 6 of them just chilling on the stone steps around dusk, totally unbothered by people. also theres a vending machine tucked by the side entrance on the yasukuni-dori side, cheap coffee, good spot to sit and watch salarymen cut through the shrine as a shortcut to kabukicho. honestly thats the real tokyo experience, not the garden
heads up that Hanazono gets packed during Golden Week and the November Tori no Ichi, so if you want that back area quiet aim for a random Tuesday morning. also fwiw the shrine sits right on the edge of Kabukicho, so you can walk out the back feeling all serene and be staring at neon and host clubs in like two minutes. kind of a wild contrast. bring coins for the small Inari shrine back there, the offering box is easy to miss.
Worth knowing that Hanazono isn't just one shrine, it's a compound. The back slope connects over toward the Inari and the little Benzaiten pond area, and there's a separate Atago shrine tucked up on the rise. Most visitors never register that they've crossed into a different sub-shrine. The Benzaiten side is where you'll actually find stillness, especially on a weekday, since it sits away from the Kabukicho edge and the crowd flow. Bring a five-yen coin, it's the traditional offering for good connections and the box there is small.
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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.