It’s one of the most widespread peculiarities about Japan: the heated seat. From taxis and public transport to toilets, even in January, your rear-end is not going to suffer the cold.
Last month, I spent just short of 10 days travelling around Japan, all meticulously organised by our importer. It was my first time in Japan, and whilst I’d heard about the facilities, I had seriously underestimated how prevalent they would be.
Whether you be in an airport, hotel or a private home, you will find a Toto washlet (for calling it by the word ‘toilet’ is far too simplistic …) and not only are the seats heated, but there are various other buttons to press: to activate jets of water (at varying levels of pressure, temperature, and direction) and/or bursts of air.
(We Europeans must seem very unclean and uncultured to them by comparison.)
There were signs in English, encouraging men to sit down…
… or limit toilet paper usage to “1 – 2 rolls per visit” !!
(I wish I’d taken more photos of toilets during the trip, but I didn’t realise at the time that I would end up writing about it.)
The final stop of the trip before heading back to Tokyo was the city of Yonago, in the prefecture of Tottori, a 3.5 hour bus ride west of Osaka … “You’re the first Italian winemakers to come here,” we were told.
That evening, we were taken to a Chinese restaurant.
As with most things about this trip, the conversation always went like this: meet at reception and a car will take you to where you need to be. (It was only on the last day of the trip that I was able to break away from the schedule and meet up with an ex-colleague… Anyway, I’ll get back to the point of this story now.)
So, I don’t actually know what the name of the Chinese restaurant is.
All I did was post this rather blurry photo in an Instagram story…. with just the caption “I’m going to miss Japan and its weird signs to tell people to sit down.”
In less than a minute, Mees (head sommelier at Noma) replied: “I hope you meet Miwa from Kumezakura sake. He is my friend in Tottori!”
I immediately sent back a photo with Miwa and the cook at the Chinese restaurant. “These guys, you mean?”
“I knew it! Hassenkaku. Yes!!”
(Now I know the name of the restaurant too – thanks Mees!)
In these days of uncertainty and anxiety, it’s a useful reminder that the wine world is actually a very small place.
One – rather silly – photo. I could quite easily not have posted it… but the portrayal of the man wearing a bikini top and with his feet barely reaching the floor made me giggle….
And it still baffles me how Mees recognised the photo and knew I was in Tottori at that particular restaurant… it’s certainly not on the tourist trail. She must have noticed and been tickled by the image too.
Isn’t it great how interconnected we all are? Maybe someone else I know has also eaten at the restaurant Hassenkaku in Yonago?
…. and yes, the following day we went to visit the sake brewery Kumezakura with Miwa…. but that’s a story for another day.
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