No toilets

In Paris, as in most of the world, apparently, there are almost no toilets. There are toilets in your hotel, and in restaurants (though they would not allow you to use those unless you are actually a guest of the hotel or the restaurant) and some toilets at the stations. There were also toilets at the university where the conference was held, though they were few, old, and dirty.

In Japan, there are free toilets that are super clean, and these toilets are everywhere. There are toilets in every station (clean toilets!) and in every convenience store, every department store, etc. It is considered completely OK to go into a convenience store, use the toilet, and leave without buying anything. They will even say "Thank you for your visit" (in a non-ironic tone), haha. After you get used to this, travelling outside Japan always makes you feel that the country you are visiting is still 200 years behind when it comes to convenient service.