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Yodobashi Dai 4's Secret?
The mural was real, I saw it about three years ago when I was helping a friend drop off supplies for the PTA. It's on the second floor landing, a big colorful piece with the kappa sitting under a blooming cherry tree, and the former student is actually a pretty well-known manga artist who went to school there in the 80s. But the school has been strict about visitors since the pandemic, they don't even let parents past the genkan without an appointment these days. If you walk around the outside, the sports day murals along the fence on the Shinmei dori side are usually visible from the street and have some nice student work too.
only thing i'd add is that the kappa in the mural is supposedly wearing a yodobashi school cap, which is how people know it's their specific legend and not the generic shinjuku gyoen one. if you're walking around the school, the old keyaki tree in the playground is actually the cherry blossom from the story, it's got a plaque at the base in japanese that explains the whole thing. that tree is fully visible from the street and makes for a solid photo even if you never get inside
fwiw the kappa legend is real but it's not exclusive to that school, there's a few kappa legends scattered around nakano and shinjuku from when the area was all rice paddies. if the mural is still there it's prob on the second floor like someone said, but honestly the school's front desk staff are super used to photographers asking about it by now. i'd just walk up to the entrance gate around 3pm when kids are leaving, bow and ask in japanese, they see that all the time
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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.