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want to meet at fmd_good Forno Centrale
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Toyama's Secret Trails?
the trails around oiwa shrine are a solid pick but honestly the one i found most surprising was the hike from the old funyu railway station up to the abandoned hot spring lodge. it's a straight shot east of toyama city, just follow the river past the last houses and you'll hit an overgrown path with these rusty lanterns every 50 meters. the lodge itself is falling apart but there's a natural hot spring pool right next to it nobody seems to use, water's perfect temp.
for maps the best thing is to screenshot the trail on google maps before you go since the signal drops about 15 minutes in. the path is marked with faded red paint on rocks, just keep an eye out after the second bridge. if you get turned around the old lady at the tiny grocery near the station speaks no english but will absolutely draw you a map on a napkin
If you want a trail that feels completely different from the alpine stuff, head south toward the Gokayama area. There's a loop that starts near the Ainokura village and goes up to a ridge called Iouzen, it's not on most tourist maps but the local community center in the village can give you a hand-drawn one. The trail winds through cedar forests and past abandoned terraced fields, and at the top you get a view of the whole Shogawa River valley with no gift shops or cable cars in sight.
For navigation, just load up Google Maps offline before you leave the city, the trail is actually marked with small yellow tape on the trees, and the locals put up wooden signposts with kanji. If you get confused, any old farmer you meet will walk you back to the path, they're used to hikers wandering off.
honestly, skip the alpine route crowds and head east toward the Nyudo valley area. there's a trail up to a tiny shrine called Jakko-ji that barely shows up on any map, it's tucked behind some cedar groves and has this mossy stone staircase that feels ancient. the view from the top looks over the whole Toyama plain, really nice at sunset.
for maps, the local konbini in Kamiichi station actually stocks a hiking booklet in japanese but with decent pictograms, cheaper than the tourist center stuff. just point at the trail numbers and you'll be fine, people are used to lost hikers. bring a gps app too, offline maps work even if your phone dies.
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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.