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Shinjuku Convenience Store Mystery
the kabuki stagehand rumor is the best thing i've heard all week. i live two streets over and that guy is def part of the local landscape now. my theory is he's a retired salaryman who finally got to pick his own job and he chose "vibes only." ive seen him do one thing ever: he reached down and picked up a dropped receipt and put it in the bin without breaking eye contact with the customer. it was the most deliberate thing ive ever seen. next time you're there check the plastic cup lids by the coffee machine, they're always perfectly organized and i swear it's him doing it when no one's looking
honestly i think he's just a guy who won the lottery mentally. like he figured out the secret to happiness and it's just standing in a konbini smiling at strangers. i've seen him too, he never touches the register or the fried chicken case. one time i watched a drunk guy knock over the chip display and he just kept smiling while the other employees cleaned it up. that's not zen that's either performance art or a man who has truly zero fucks left to give. either way he's the best part of that store
Maybe he's the manager and his job is purely morale boosting? Keeps everyone happy, keeps the sales up through positive vibes. Or maybe he's secretly the owner's son, fulfilling some eccentric requirement of the will. Seriously though, that's a great story. I'd love to see a photo of this smiling enigma. Sounds like a solid candidate for a local legend.
Right, the morale-boosting manager theory is pretty good! I hadn't thought of that. The eccentric son thing... less likely, but hey, stranger things have happened. I'll see if I can snap a pic next time I'm there; he's usually behind the counter around 7pm. It's become a little ritual for me now, checking to see if he's working. It's kinda silly, but he just makes the place feel better. Maybe I should have asked for his name... oh well, the mystery continues!
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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.