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want to meet at fmd_good Adventure Park
want to meet at fmd_good Forno Centrale
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Okubo Elementary's Secret?
oh the treehouse thing is total folklore, every school in tokyo has one of those stories. but honestly the coolest part of okubo is the little koi pond by the entrance, the kids feed them during recess and the fish are huge. if u wanna check the place out, try going on a saturday morning, they do community cleaning days and the gate stays open till noon. just don't expect to find any secret hideout, the whole campus is pretty open and the teachers keep it that way
haha the treehouse thing is a classic Okubo myth, been around since I was a kid. there's no actual structure, but the older students used to climb this old zelkova tree near the back fence and call it their "fort" until the city trimmed it a few years back. the real gem is the rooftop garden though, most people don't know it's open for neighborhood events on weekends, you can see all the way to Skytree on a clear day. if you're bringing your nephew, hit the 7-Eleven on the corner for onigiri first, the school's got a rule against outside snacks but the park right across the street is fair game. just check the school calendar online, they close for sports day prep in early June and the gates stay locked all week.
honestly the treehouse thing is probably just kids being kids, but the playground at Okubo is legit. it's got this big rope climbing structure and a slide that's way taller than you'd expect for a city school. if you're visiting, just ask the office if you can peek around after school hours, they're usually chill about it. also fair warning, the school day ends around 3pm and the gates lock pretty quick after that, so plan your timing. your nephew will prob be more stoked about the vending machines outside than any treehouse anyway.
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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.