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Man walking around at 830pm slapping two wooden sticks?
haha yeah that's the yakei patrol, you're fine. the clacking is called hyoshigi, it's like a wooden clapper they use for the fire watch. ive lived near otsuka for like 5 years and hear it almost every week, especially in autumn and winter when people are using heaters more. the chonaikai (neighborhood association) rotates who does it, so sometimes its an old guy sometimes its a younger dad from the block
honestly sounds like the autumn fire patrol thing, they do it more often when it gets colder and drier. the hyoshigi clacking is a dead giveaway, it's been a tradition in shitamachi areas for ages. otsuka has a lot of those old wooden houses so it makes sense they'd be extra careful around there. prob just a regular neighborhood rotation, nothing to worry about
yeah that's the night patrol for fire watch, called "yakei" or something similar. it's a neighborhood rotation thing, super common in older residential areas near otsuka. they walk around clapping the hyoshigi (those wooden sticks) to remind everyone to be careful with fire before bed. the guys with glow sticks are just volunteers making sure they're visible to traffic. happens year-round but especially in dry seasons
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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.