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The Tokyo Café Toilet ReviewVol. IIIAug 17, 2026
← Matches
Match Nº 11 · Ginza · June 23, 2026

Salon de l'Hirondelle vs. Kissa Meteor

Marble versus a pipe. Ginza has never pretended the contest would be fair.

Exhibit A — Salon de l'Hirondelle.
Exhibit A — Salon de l'Hirondelle.
Exhibit B — Kissa Meteor.
Exhibit B — Kissa Meteor.
Contender A

Salon de l'Hirondelle

Est. 2020 · Apparatus: TOTO Neorest AH · Paper: 3-ply, embossed with crest · Soap: liquid, neroli & white tea · Sound: classical, curated

Salon de l'Hirondelle has installed a Neorest AH in a room panelled with Carrara marble. The paper is three-ply and embossed with a swallow. The soap is neroli and white tea. The classical playlist has been curated. Everything has been curated. That is the problem and the triumph.

Contender B

Kissa Meteor

Est. 1971 · Apparatus: none · Paper: 1-ply, brown · Soap: bar, institutional · Sound: traffic and a radio

Kissa Meteor's restroom is a closet with a view of a pipe. The soap is a bar that has seen decades. The paper is brown and single-ply. There is a radio playing horse racing results, which was scored under Sound with the neutrality this publication requires.

Scorecard
Salon
Kissa
Cleanliness
10
7
Apparatus
10
5
Silence
9
6
Scent
10
8
Paper
8
9
47
Salon de l'Hirondelle
35
Kissa Meteor
The verdict

Salon de l'Hirondelle's 47 is the season's high-water mark. Kissa Meteor's restroom is a reminder that excellence and plumbing are not the same thing. Its Paper score of 9 — for the honest brown single-ply — is noted as the match's only upset.

Winner — Salon de l'Hirondelle