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want to meet at fmd_good Forno Centrale
want to meet at fmd_good Funland
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Lost in Translation?
ngl the TMG building is a mess but there's a trick not many people know about. theres a small help desk on the 2nd floor near the east elevator bank that's specifically for foreigners, staffed by volunteers who speak decent english. they don't advertise it at all so you'd never find it unless someone told you. i'd head there first before trying to navigate the main counters, saved me like an hour when i had to deal with my residence card renewal
honestly the trick with the TMG building is to use the basement floor entrance from Tochomae station instead of the main plaza. theres a less crowded elevator bank that goes straight to the upper floors and you skip the security line at the main lobby. also the visa extension counter is actually in the annex building connected by a skybridge on the 2nd floor, not the main tower at all. most people waste 20 minutes wandering the main building before someone points them to the bridge. bring a pen too, they only have a few at the counter and theyre always missing
Prepare for a potential multi-hour ordeal. Seriously. The TMG building is... something else. Even with perfect Japanese, it's a challenge. Your best bet is to go extremely early, before the crowds and the inevitable slowdowns hit. Download a good offline map beforehand (Google Maps works okay, but have a backup). If you have a Japanese speaker who can call ahead and get directions to the exact counter, that's gold. Failing that, try writing down your query in Japanese using Google Translate and showing it to staff, sometimes a visual aid helps bypass the language barrier. Bring snacks and water; you'll need them. It's less about a "best" way and more about preparing for a marathon. Good luck! You'll need it.
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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.