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Hanazono Shrine's Secret?
The shrine grounds actually get subdivided for the bigger festivals, and some of those inner barriers only open for specific matsuri like Tsukiji Hongan-ji's not the right comparison, I mean Hanazono's own Tori-no-Ichi in November. That little gate near the haiden is prob tied to the Inari sub-shrine tucked behind it, which isn't always open to walk through. If you go back on a Tori-no-Ichi day you'll see a totally different layout, stalls everywhere and some normally closed areas briefly accessible.
There's a small stone marker tucked against the fence just left of that gate, easy to miss because it's low and half covered in moss. It commemorates a boundary line from when the shrine's land got trimmed back, and the gate itself lines up with an old approach path that used to run toward what's now Yasukuni-dori. So it's less legend and more leftover infrastructure, a door onto a route that no longer exists. Worth crouching down to read the inscription if you go back, though the kanji are pretty worn.
If you go back, check whether the gate has a small plaque with a year on it. Several of the locked doors around Hanazono were rebuilt after the war, and the shrine marked the restoration years on the posts themselves. That particular one near the haiden dates to a postwar repair cycle, which is why it looks newer than the fencing around it. It's less a secret and more a record of what survived and what got patched up.
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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.