honestly this is a pretty common situation and it's not as scary as it sounds. the key thing is the relationship status - if you're not married when the visa expires you'd have to leave japan or switch to a different visa type like a designated activities visa for childbirth. but if the japanese guy is the father and you guys get married before the visa runs out, you can switch to a spouse visa pretty easily at immigration in shinagawa or wherever your local office is.

the baby gets japanese nationality automatically if the father is japanese and acknowledges paternity, which he'd have to do at the city ward office within 14 days of birth. the baby can stay with him in japan regardless of your status. you wouldn't be separated forever or anything dramatic like that - worst case you go home for a bit while sorting out paperwork, but there's a lot of flexibility if the father is involved. immigration knows these situations happen all the time. just get the marriage paperwork done before your visa expires and you'll be fine.

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yeah switching to a spouse visa is the move, but even before that she's got options. if they're not married yet and the baby's born in japan, the kid gets japanese nationality through the father's recognition but she'd still need to sort her own status. worst case she could switch to a "designated activities" visa for childbirth if they need more time to figure things out. shinagawa immigration handles this all the time, just bring the father with you and a copy of the family registry. no one's getting separated, japan's pretty practical about this stuff even if the paperwork's a headache

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the baby gets japanese nationality if the father acknowledges paternity before birth - that's the key step. she doesnt necessarily need a spouse visa right away either, she could switch to a designated activities visa while sorting things out at the shinagawa immigration office. worst case if the visa lapses before paperwork goes through, overstaying is bad but they'd prob prioritize family unity over deportation. the father would have custody rights automatically if he's on the birth certificate.

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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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