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Christmas lights from my balcony in Tokyo - socially acceptable?
ngl you're fine. theres a guy in my neighborhood in Setagaya who does a full nativity scene with a spotlight every year and nobody bats an eye. the slow blue/white fade is basically what they do at the station plaza anyway so that's not gonna bother anyone
the only thing i'd watch is if your balcony faces a narrow alley. if people have to walk past it up close the seizure mode might be a bit much at eye level. but if you're on a main road or wider street nobody cares
honestly the Santa and reindeer combo sounds cute. most people here are too busy worrying about their own stuff to call the cops over christmas lights. worst case a neighbor might leave a passive aggressive note but that's about it
ngl the blue/white slow fade is basically the same vibe as the Caretta Illumination so you're fine. if you wanna be extra safe, point the lights slightly downward so they're not blasting into the apartment above you. i live in a similar setup in Setagaya and my neighbor has a whole projection setup on her wall every year, nobody cares
the santa and reindeer might actually get you street cred with the local obaachans who walk their dogs at night. just make sure the reindeer isn't blocking the path for the garbage collection spot on your street, that's the only thing that'll get you side-eye
honestly you're overthinking this. if your landlord is cool with it and you're not aiming strobes directly into someone's bedroom window, nobody's calling the cops. the seizure blink mode might annoy your immediate neighbors but the blue/white slow fade is basically what they do at Caretta Shiodome every year so that's fine
the real issue is your ground floor neighbor or the old lady across the street who might glare at you but that's about it. I've seen way worse - some guy in Koenji had a full inflatable snow globe on his 2nd floor balcony for three years straight and nobody did anything. just keep the blinking mode off after 9pm and you're golden
for what it's worth, people here actually appreciate the effort if it looks deliberate and not like a construction site. your Santa and reindeer combo will prob get some smiles from kids walking to school in the morning
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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.