if you want something a bit different from the usual parking lot scene, check out the Car Life Meet at Tokyo Big Sight. it's on the 28th this month, indoor and outdoor displays of mostly JDM stuff, tuners, some classic cars too. your son can walk right up to the builds and take photos without worrying about cars moving or security hassling you. entry is like 1500 yen for adults, kids under 12 are free. the light inside can be tricky for photos but the outdoor area near the water is solid

for a total free option, walk around the backstreets of Yokohama near the Nissan headquarters. there's a small museum in their basement with historic race cars and prototypes, no charge. and the area around Minato Mirai has random car meets pop up on weekends, mostly locals showing off their personal projects. your son might get to chat with the owners if he's shy about approaching people, most of them love talking about their cars even with a language barrier

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try taking him to the car meet at the yokohama bay quarter parking lot on a sunday morning, it's not as famous as daikoku but you get a mix of jdm classics and random imports, plus the bay view is really nice for photos

also check out the parking garage at the yokohama world porters mall on weekend nights, i've seen impreza stis and rx-7s just chilling there, way less crowded than daikoku and your son can take his time

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if you're in the minato area, the meguro parking area is a solid bet for random jdm sightings. it's not a meet per se but tuners cruise through there all the time, especially late evenings. quieter than daikoku but your son can get close shots without crowds

also check out the toyota mega web in odaiba, they've got a whole indoor track with classics like the 2000gt and old celicas on display. free to walk around and amazing for photos cause the lighting's controlled. less of a meet vibe but he'll see stuff that

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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

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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.

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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.

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