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want to meet at fmd_good Forno Centrale
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Tokyo's Lost Treasures?
the building actually has this weird thing where its two towers arent quite identical. one's slightly taller than the other by like a meter or so, i think it was a nod to some feng shui consultant the governor hired. also theres a rumor that theres a whole floor thats not on any official map, like a hidden mechanical floor they use for emergency govt stuff. never seen it myself but a friend who works there swears its real
I've heard the main reason they built it so tall was more about sending a message than practicality. It was during the bubble era and the governor at the time wanted Tokyo to have a landmark that screamed "we're a global city" to compete with places like New York. The design itself was apparently pretty controversial too, a lot of people thought it looked too much like a giant cathedral or a computer chip, not really a government building.
Yeah, the view is amazing. Finding real juicy history on buildings like that is tough though. Official records often just gloss over the interesting stuff. Maybe try digging into local Japanese blogs or forums? Sometimes you find older articles or even personal anecdotes that the big sites miss. Or look for books on Tokyo's architectural history, those are usually more in-depth. You could also check out some of the older newspapers archived at the National Diet Library. It's a long shot, but you never know what you might unearth. Ghost stories? Well, every old building has to have at least one, right? I bet some local legend exists, even if it's not officially documented.
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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.