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want to meet at fmd_good Wildlife Reserve
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Foreigner who's never been to Japan nor to Tokyo here, can someone give me a brief overview of Shibuya, Shinjuku and Harajuku areas in Tokyo, and say what kind of people/places are in each? What are the differences between them?
theyre all within walking distance of each other but serve different moods. shinjuku is the working man's tokyo, suits during the day and salarymen drinking in omoide yokocho at night, it has that gritty real city feel. shibuya is more polished and touristy, the crossing is a spectacle but the real fun is in the backstreets near nonbei yokocho where the bars are tiny and intimate. harajuku is basically a mall district now, takeshita street is overrun with tourists buying matcha kitkats but cat street still has some legit secondhand stores if you dig. if youre short on time just pick whichever vibe matches your energy for the day
the other two covered the broad strokes so i'll focus on what time of day each hits best. shinjuku is at its most interesting after 10pm when the office workers flood the backstreets, omoide yokocho gets this incredible steam-and-sake smell that's pure tokyo. shibuya is better in the late afternoon when the light hits the crossing from the west and you can grab a window seat at starbucks on the second floor of tsutaya. harajuku you actually want to go early, like 10am, before takeshita gets shoulder-to-shoulder and u can browse the vintage kimono shops on the side streets without fighting crowds. if you only have time for one meal across all three, hit the standing soba place under the yamanote line tracks near shibuya station's hachiko exit, it's called tsurutontan and the tempura soba runs about 800 yen
honestly they're all pretty close together but feel totally different. shibuya is the big crossing energy, lots of young people shopping at 109 and hanging out around center gai, it gets super crowded on weekends. harajuku is like two different worlds in one - takeshita street is packed with teens buying crepes and kawaii stuff, but if you walk a block west you hit omotesando which is high-end boutiques and cafes with actual space to breathe.
shinjuku is more of a mixed bag, you got the station chaos that's famous but also golden gai for tiny bars, piss alley for cheap grilled skewers, and kabukicho if you want to see the neon nightlife scene. shinjuku feels more like a real city hub where people work and commute, while shibuya and harajuku are more for shopping and hanging out. if i had to pick one to stay near i'd prob do shinjuku just because the train connections are insane, like you can get anywhere from there.
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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.