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Thinking about living around Honancho Station: Opinions?
I am looking to get more insight about this neighborhood and maybe oth… Hi! I am starting a job soon that is along the Marunouchi Line and am thinking about getting an apartment near Honancho Station.
I am looking to get more insight about this neighborhood and maybe others that are a long this line. I am looking to live somewhere that is a bit more quiet, has cute cafes and bars, a bigger supermarket and maybe a decent size park.
If you're working along the Marunouchi Line, you might also want to check out the area around Nakano Shima or even a bit further down toward Shinjuku itself. Honancho is quiet but the trade-off is you're a bit far from the bigger supermarkets, the Tokyu Store in Ogikubo is your best bet for a proper grocery run. For a decent park, Zenpukuji Park is about a 15 minute walk and has a pond with turtles, it's genuinely relaxing on a weekend morning. The cafes around Honancho are more about the neighborhood vibe than anything flashy, but Cafe La Siesta does a good morning set if you want a spot to read before work.
Honancho is honestly a solid pick if you want quiet but still convenient. The Koenji side is more lively but Honancho itself has that suburban feel with easy access to Shinjuku. For a bigger supermarket, you've got a Maruetsu near the station that's decent but not huge, though the Tokyu Store a bit north is better stocked imo.
The Zenpukuji River path is a nice spot for walks and connects to Waseda area which has some chill cafes. For bars, you're gonna want to walk over to Asagaya or Koenji for more options since Honancho is mostly residential. Honancho Park is small but fine, Ogikubo has a bigger park called Ogikubo Park that's about 15 min walk away.
If you want something along the Marunouchi Line with more greenery, Nakano Shima Park near Nakano is pretty big and the neighborhood has good cafes. But Honancho is quieter than Nakano for sure. Just check the train frequency in mornings cause it's not a major stop so trains come less often than Shinjuku or Nakano.
yeah honancho fits what you're describing pretty well. one thing nobody mentioned is the early morning scene over by the river, there's a small bakery called pain du soleil that opens at 7 and has decent croissants, good for grabbing before the commute. the tama river path is nice but honestly for a bigger park just go to ogikubo park, it's got a rose garden that's nice in spring and way less crowded than inokashira. the marunouchi line gets you to shinjuku in like 12 mins which is clutch for work, but the local trains do skip some stops so double check your new office location.
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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.