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Shinjuku Banking Woes
Wednesday or Thursday mid-morning is your best bet, around 10:30 to 11. The lunch rush starts creeping in by 11:45 and it gets chaotic fast. There's a small Lawson right across the street on Yasukuni-dori if you need a coffee while you wait, but honestly the line usually moves faster than people expect once you're past the initial queue for the ticket machine.
ngl the mizuho shinjuku branch is a special kind of hell. if u can swing it, go like 15 minutes before they close, around 4:45, the staff are trying to wrap up and they'll push ur paperwork through faster. just don't show up at 5:01 or they'll turn u away. there's a decent kissaten two blocks south on meiji-dori if u need to kill time beforehand, they do a solid morning set
Go early morning, like before they even open. Seriously. Or late afternoon, after the usual lunch rush and before the after-work crowd. Weekdays are generally worse than weekends, obviously. Prepare for at least a short wait no matter what, though. Those international transfers are notoriously paperwork-heavy. Bring a book. And maybe some pocky.
Yeah, that sounds about right. I figured it would be a nightmare. Thanks for the tips, the pocky suggestion is genius. I'll definitely try the early morning approach. Hate waiting, but at least I'll have something to munch on while I'm stuck in line.
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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.