Japan Report: Totos in Tokyo

Hi Friends,

Whats your least favorite part of international travel? For me, it’s the bathrooms.

Didn’t think I was going to start the first newsletter of 2026 talking about toilets, did you? (btw: Happy New Year!) But hey, it’s a new year, maybe it's time to shake things up...

In case you missed it: I’m in Japan for two weeks while Arden is closed for our annual winter break. I’m currently on day four of five in Tokyo, then heading to Hokkaido to drink wine for a few days, followed by Kyoto and finally Osaka before heading home.

This is my first time in Asia. So if these next newsletters feel like a mix of wine notes and cultural observations I’m processing in real time... That’s exactly what’s happening.

But back to bathrooms.

It’s always surprising to me how you can be plopped down in a chic city like Paris—with the most beautiful food, architecture and fashion—and yet every time nature calls, you have to stress about not only whether you'll be able to find a public restroom, but what shade of nightmare will it be... Just a hole in the ground? Sans lid? Sans toilet paper? Squat required? Will there even be a door?

But I am now on day four in Tokyo and am thrilled to report that these are not concerns here. I have checked out quite a few bathrooms because your girl has a bladder the size of an English pea. (No pun intended). And let me tell you, my tushy has not encountered an unheated toilet seat yet. Every. Single. Bathroom. (including public ones in parks and subway stations) has a Toto toilet with heated seat and bidet, complete with adjustable pressure, temperature control, and noise protection  (because why not go the extra mile) and an emergency button in case you get so comfortable you never want to leave. And many also have a baby holder built into the stall to safely tuck your tot away while doing your business. I even encountered one mall bathroom that had a curling iron by the hand wash for on-the-go primping needs!

I’m not saying the bathrooms are the favorite part of my trip... but they are very representative of this country as a whole. (Maybe pun intended).

I’m starting here because they’re the perfect example of how this country operates. Everything is highly efficient and built around convenience—even for a Westerner. As someone who speaks zero Japanese, it has been shockingly easy to navigate everything from subway systems to restaurant menus to day spas. (Yes, I did that on day one; don’t judge me!)

 There is a pragmatic care that just seems to govern this country and I really love it. Although... I should admit that my own ease here is only possible thanks to Google. I literally don’t know how anyone traveled anywhere before Google. You use Google Maps and Google Translate to get everywhere and understand everything. No street signs? Just follows the arrow on your phone. Heading to the other side of town? Google tells you not only the subway line, but also the platform and specific train car to get you there. Menu only in Japanese? Take a photo and translate it. So on behalf of all westerners.. thanks, Google.

But Japan then takes the convenience a step further. Take for example, transit cards. Instead of getting a metro card specific to subway travel, you can add a transit card to your phone "wallet." No need to even open your phone up—just tap it to the turnstile and go. But to make life even more convenient? You can use that same transit card to pay at convenience stores, vending stations, coffee shops, even said day spa!

And speaking of convenience stores...

Japan is obviously known for food, but even the food at a freaking 7-Eleven is delicious. People had told me that convenience stores were going to blow my mind but I was not fully prepared for how much. 7-Eleven and a few other popular brands (Lawson, Family Mart and more) are on every corner in Tokyo, open 24 hours, and your go-to stop for ATM's, snacks and even full meals. Convenient! They are the same size as American stores, but the entire perimeter wall is filled with ready-to-eat food that’s made fresh and restocked every three hours.  

Bowls of ramen, onigiri, boiled eggs in multiple levels of doneness, individually packaged chicken breast in every preparation imaginable (smoked, poached, roasted, chili-marinated) and of course the now-viral  egg salad sandwich (don't ask me why how they do it, but it's just as good as TikTok says). They even have a microwave on site to heat anything you buy up for you.

And we haven’t even talked about alcohol yet!

These convenience stores also have every shade of boozy beverage imaginable. Floor-to-ceiling coolers of canned gin and whiskey highballs—mostly Suntory, which feels like the Japanese equivalent of Coca-Cola; you see it everywhere—usually in the 7% to 9% ABV range. And not to mention vending machines on every street corner selling coffee, tea, water, and sometimes more highballs. You just walk up and tap your phone.

Wine, on the other hand, is pretty rare. If it’s on a menu at all, it’s usually just one or two wines by the glass, and they’re generally French. Most places focus on beer, sake, and Japanese whiskey. (The guys I'm traveling with are all about the whiskey but it's not the spirit for me... whiskey makes me pick fights and cry, so it’s better for everyone if I steer clear of it). I’ve been defaulting to sake, sochu (like sake and vodka had a baby) or a Suntory-owned gin called SUI that I'm just discovering and really love—distilled with yuzu and ginger!

That said, I have tried a few Japanese wines...

A friend in Portland—thank you Dennis—who imports Japanese wine sent us to a spot in Shibuya called Nico. Like so many places here, it was tucked away on the sixth floor of a plaza we never would have found on our own. Nico exclusively serves Japanese wines and we got to try 8 bottles from all over the country.

One thing I’m still trying to wrap my mind around is how wide the diversity of climate and geography Japan actually has. In Hokkaido in the north (where the most promising wine is coming from and we're headed tomorrow!), Sapporo is one of the snowiest cities in the world. But then you can go all the way south to Okinawa and are on tropical beaches.

So when we tried a Chardonnay from southern Japan that smelled exactly like Meursault (reductive, unctuous, shiitakes and brown butter) but on the palate had the ripeness of a California Chardonnay... I was surprised to find out that it was grown at the same latitude as Santa Cruz! (side note but I would love to short-circuit some sommelier's minds on this in a blind tasting).

We tried an Albariño from Yamagata that smelled tropical and waxy but was crisp and tart on the palate and I would have confidently blind-tasted it as Mediterranean Malvasia. We also tried a mystery white from Hokkaido that didn’t list the grape anywhere but smelled like peach ring candy and petrichor with just a hint of foxiness that made us fairly confident it was a hybrid grape.

Hybrids are very common here because historically it’s been too cold and damp to ripen vitas vinifera (much like in the finger lakes of New York or Scandinavia). We also tasted a skin-contact blend with over twelve varietals—red and white—that was a gorgeous copper color and totally yummy and playful. We did try one dark rosé that was very mousy and not my cup of tea, but that the cool kids in Paris would love. And only one out of eight being overly natty is good odds in my book! One thing worth noting: none of the wines we tasted were over 13% alcohol. Even the richer Chardonnay.

These four days have been such sensory overload—such a deluge of flavors, experiences, and incredible meals—that it feels almost absurd that I’ve spent this whole newsletter talking about bathrooms and convenience stores. Suffice it to say, I’m trying to take it all in and having a blast doing it.

I'll have more to report next week, more wine-related no the heels of Hokkaido. And we barely even talked about non-convenience store food! So much to share...

I hope you're all having a fabulous start to the new year!

Kanpai,
Kelsey 🥂