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want to meet at fmd_good Brew Lab
want to meet at fmd_good Vintage Avenue
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Best new years sales?
honestly the yodobashi camera in akihabara is a solid bet for character goods and stationery fukubukuro, they usually have the pokemon center and san-x collab bags that arent just random junk. the line gets long early tho, like 7am if you want the good ones
for toys specifically, i'd skip the big department stores and hit up the kiddyland in harajuku instead. their fukubukuro are more curated and you can actually see what's inside before buying, which is rare. just be ready for the crowd around takeshita street, it's chaos
one thing people dont mention enough is the january 2nd sales at lofts and tokyu hands. the first day is always insane but by the 2nd they restock and its way calmer. i grabbed a muji stationery bag last year for 3000 yen that had like 8000 yen worth of stuff
honestly the best bang for your buck with character goods is the Sanrio 福袋 if you can snag one, they sell out fast online but the flagship store in Ginza usually has some on jan 2. for stationery, Loft and Itoya do those lucky bags but theyre more like mystery boxes with mixed reviews, i'd go to the Loft in Shibuya on the 3rd when the crowds thin out a bit. if you want toys, Bic Camera in Yurakucho has decent 福袋 for kids but you gotta get there early, like 7am early, or theyre gone by 9
for character goods the animate and k-books stores do proper fukubukuro that are actually themed not just random junk. the animate in ikebukuro has a good stationery set every year too but u gotta line up early like 8am early. dont bother with the big department stores unless you want clothes
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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.