“Home is where the people you love are.” Vogue Japan cover star Anna Sawai takes us through a day in her hometown of Tokyo, Japan. The Shōgun actor kicks things off with an 8AM Pilates session, then grabs some matcha before meeting up with her university friends at Arisugawa-no-miya Memorial Park. By noon, Anna visits Azabu Kawakami-an for a quick lunch. While waiting for her meal, she shares how she always treats herself to Japanese food while in the West to stay connected to her roots. After lunch, she stops by the iconic Don Quijote convenience store for some goodies and shops for a pair of chopsticks to bring on set. Anna ends the evening with a wagyu omakase boat cruise around Tokyo Bay, where she opens up about the difficult loss of her grandmother.
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00:00We're only in the first corner right now.
00:02Oh my god.
00:03Hey!
00:04There's the door also.
00:05What?
00:06It's a soda?
00:08I think I have to try it.
00:10Okay.
00:11And...
00:27Hi, Vogue!
00:28I'm Anna Sawai.
00:29I'm here in Tokyo and I'm about to show you what I do in a day in my hometown.
00:34I'm exercising my sister.
00:36Say hi, Rena.
00:37Hi.
00:38She's in Hong Kong and she's doing a Pilates class with me.
00:41So, let's get to work.
00:43Alright.
00:46This is the one I can't do.
00:48No, I can't do it.
00:50I only recently started Pilates.
00:53When I can, I try to exercise with my sister.
00:56But if not, I always talk to her and she's sent me Pilates YouTube videos.
01:03Keep lengthening your neck and your fingers away from you.
01:08Last two sets.
01:09Switch.
01:10Left, left.
01:11Switch.
01:12Right, right.
01:13She is so stoic.
01:15She is so serious about workouts.
01:18I slack a little bit more.
01:20So, she's definitely like my teacher when we exercise.
01:24I'm tired.
01:25Oh, my God.
01:27Reach this side.
01:28Stretch this side of your body.
01:35Thanks.
01:36I'll talk to you later.
01:38Post workout, I try to drink a lot of water.
01:42But then after water, I will always follow up with some caffeine.
01:45Because your girl needs some caffeine to get going.
01:48And I got four hours of sleep only last night.
01:51So, we're about to go get some matcha.
01:54Let's go.
01:58Alright, guys.
01:59So, we're at Wasatchi.
02:00Best green tea in town.
02:03I wasn't going to share it, but it's that good.
02:06So, come on.
02:08Go get a latte.
02:10Bye.
02:11I've been here once before.
02:14And it was so good that I've been just dreaming about it for many, many months.
02:19And I finally came here again to try a new drink.
02:22So, I'm very excited.
02:27I think my favorite thing about this cafe is that it's very hidden.
02:30And it's very cozy.
02:32It's never really that crowded.
02:34I feel like during Shogun, I had to learn how to make tea.
02:38And so, that was kind of the entry for me.
02:41But, also, there's so much caffeine in matcha that whenever I need something strong,
02:47I'll go for a matcha latte.
02:52It's good!
02:53It's not too overpowering, so you can still really taste the matcha.
03:01It's so good.
03:02I like to go outside.
03:05I like to be in nature.
03:07I don't like places that are too crowded, so a park like this is my thing.
03:12I feel like I always wanted to act.
03:15That was always my dream.
03:17And I thought that I would be able to pursue it while doing music, but I soon realized that
03:23it was going to be very difficult to balance it out.
03:25And that's why I just decided to quit the agency, start from zero, and try to work in Hollywood
03:32because I grew up watching films that were made in the West.
03:37Oh my god!
03:38They're there!
03:39Maya!
03:40Aki!
03:41Kaicha!
03:42Amy!
03:43Hi!
03:44Maya!
03:45Hi!
03:46And Aki!
03:47And then this is Amy and Kaicha.
03:50Say hi!
03:51Hi!
03:52Hi!
03:53We met at university.
03:56Is it 14 years ago?
03:59Yeah.
04:00I remember the first time I was being real.
04:02I was always trying to work hard.
04:06I remember the feeling of cute.
04:11Yes.
04:12It's nice.
04:14I feel like I'm just trying straight.
04:21I feel like I'm really looking for my friends who are not wearing them.
04:27I feel like I'm being overwhelmed.
04:30I get to see them after work or before I leave.
04:34I'm leaving tomorrow and to be able to see you guys like this, it's like,
04:38I think I'm gonna do it tomorrow.
04:40Bye bye.
04:41Bye bye.
04:42Bye bye.
04:43Bye bye.
04:44Bye bye.
04:45Bye bye.
04:46Bye bye.
04:47Bye bye.
04:48Bye bye.
04:49Bye bye.
04:50Bye bye.
04:51I'll see you later.
04:52Bye bye.
04:53Bye bye.
04:54I'll see you later.
04:55Bye bye.
04:56Bye bye.
04:57I'll see you later.
04:58Bye bye.
04:59Bye bye.
05:00Bye bye.
05:05Alright, time for lunch.
05:07We're at this place called Kawakamiyan, which is well known for their sopa.
05:17And the first time I actually went to Kawakamiyan was with Maya and Aki and I'm just about to have a quick lunch before I go shopping.
05:24When I'm traveling, I try to eat as much Japanese food as I can to just make my body feel like it's at home.
05:34I feel like the first time I started working abroad, I was really excited to be there.
05:39Not that I'm not excited right now, but I was very open to trying new things.
05:44So I didn't really miss Japanese food, but the more I worked abroad, the more that I started missing homes.
05:52So that's when I started to incorporate more Japanese food and I actually started to listen to more Japanese music.
05:59Doing shows like Shogun actually really taught me more about Japanese culture and what I love about it.
06:07I think that things that feel a little bit more sopoku, I really need right now.
06:13Here!
06:15I'm so happy. I love this.
06:17I'm so happy.
06:18I'm so happy.
06:19This is dashi maki tamagi.
06:21I love it.
06:22I really love it.
06:28I'm so happy.
06:30I'm so happy.
06:31It's delicious.
06:32I'm so happy.
06:33I'm so happy.
06:34I'm so happy.
06:35In Japan, it's more common to make sounds to appeal that it's really good.
06:42So that's why I'm making sounds when I'm eating my noodles.
06:53Alright, so I have come to buy some chopsticks to bring to Salt Lake City because the one I was using in Australia is already a little bit old.
07:02So I'm gonna pick some new ones for myself.
07:05I have to travel with chopsticks because it just makes eating easier.
07:10So I have a set for on set and then I have one to leave at the apartment and I'm gonna find the one for my apartment.
07:17For my apartment.
07:18Tsubaru Nuri.
07:19Tsubaru Nuri.
07:20Tsubaru Nuri is making these various colors of the trees that have been added to several different colors.
07:25It's a very good layout.
07:26It's been a long time for 20, 30 years.
07:28It's been a long time for 20, 30 years.
07:29It's been a long time for 20 to 30 years.
07:30It's been a long time for 20 to 30 years.
07:32That's really long.
07:33It's amazing.
07:34It's the most popular color of the eight-girks.
07:38This is?
07:39This is a different color.
07:40This is a different color.
07:41This is a different color.
07:42This is a different color.
07:43Yes.
07:44They're a little bit different.
07:46The shape and everything is the same.
07:49But you can see that the...
07:51This is a black base.
07:54I found my match, guys.
07:57Alright, so now that we've got this, there's one more important thing that I have to get.
08:01So come follow me.
08:04Quick stop.
08:06The most important thing is to have your favorite snacks with you when you travel.
08:18Because that, you can bring to set every day.
08:23I just feel like the quality of Japanese snacks is so good.
08:27I still want to buy them, but...
08:30Basically, it's this one.
08:32I really want to buy them.
08:35It's around here.
08:36I mean, which one of those are the most important ones?
08:40This is my favorite.
08:42So...
08:43I would love to know what you guys prefer.
08:51Yay! We got our goodies!
08:53Okay, this is going to last me my whole shoot.
08:56Well, we are running late for dinner.
08:57So let's get going!
09:09Maya!
09:10Oh!
09:11Oh, wait!
09:12Hi!
09:13It's good to see you again!
09:14Hi!
09:15So, we're going to go to dinner on this Yakatapune.
09:19And it's a special one.
09:20So, very excited to see it.
09:22Well done!
09:23Thank you!
09:24Thank you!
09:30So, we're now on this special Yakatapune.
09:33And we're about to go on a Tokyo Bay cruise and have dinner.
09:37Yay!
09:38Okay, cheers!
09:39Yay!
09:52Wow!
09:53It's so pretty!
09:54Look at this view!
09:55Oh, you can see Tokyo Tower.
09:56You can see Rainbow Bridge.
09:57Wow!
09:58It's so pretty!
09:59Oh, you can see Tokyo Tower.
10:00You can see Rainbow Bridge.
10:01Wow!
10:02Wow!
10:03It's so pretty!
10:04I feel like recently, I especially think about what life is just because my life has drastically changed, but also because I lost my grandmom.
10:18Um...
10:23So...
10:24Like, when you grow happiness, when you become a teenager, it may be sad.
10:31Yeah.
10:32Yeah.
10:33There's so many things I'm so grateful for.
10:35And...
10:36That's, you know, you guys.
10:37That's...
10:38That's...
10:39Being with my family.
10:40It's also...
10:41Being able to do what I love.
10:42So...
10:43Ne?
10:44Oh, my...
10:45You're gonna make a cry.
10:47Maya can cry.
10:48It's all not.
10:49Maya can cry.
10:50It's all not.
10:51Maya can cry.
10:52It's all not.
10:53Maya can cry.
10:54It's all not.
10:55I think that before, it used to be doing what I love, which is acting.
11:00But recently, I've been focusing a lot on, like, having a fulfilling personal life as well, because without that, it really...
11:09Like, work isn't gonna be meaningful.
11:11You also can't express enough.
11:13And so, I feel like my definition of success would be to have a very happy life.
11:24Yeah.
11:25Honestly?
11:26I'm gonna sound like such a diva.
11:29Like, nothing really feels out of reach, to be honest, because I think that if you put your mind to it, you can do it.
11:35It's really great to see you, you know, blossom into this great actress now.
11:41But, you know, I've seen you, you know, be persistent and work hard, you know, since I've known you, you know, since the beginning of our relationship.
11:50And, you know, you've always, you've always worked hard, you're always determined.
11:55So, yeah, I have a lot of respect for that.
11:58Oh, yeah.
11:59You know what?
12:00I really, really think, in the past two years, that home is where the people that you love are.
12:05Yeah, it's not about being in, like, the place that you grew up, but it's more about, like, the people you get to share it with.
12:12Thank you, Vogue, for spending 24 hours with me.
12:17It's been so much fun, but I think it's time to let the cameras away, because Maya and I are gonna enjoy some private time.
12:23So, yeah.