This may seem like a bit of a ridiculous blog topic, but as any previous visitor can tell you, Japanese toilets are truly one of the interesting aspects of Japan. I mean no offense to anyone. But once you’ve used a $10,000 toilet, curiosity sets in.
Japanese toilets represent the ultimate luxury in “using the bathroom.” Previously, in Japan, the toilets used to basically be a hole in the ground. However, in the last couple decades, Japan has converted to western toilets and taken it to a whole new level. The technology and attention to detail is unrivaled. Most have a full control panel with buttons that do everything and anything, yet are entirely impossible to understand. Let’s have a look through some of the functionality and differences I’ve come across this trip.
- Heated seats – This is a fairly standard function here and much appreciated. After having spent last weekend skiing in Mammoth and staying at a mountain cabin, I was reminded all too quickly of the negative aspect of a cold toilet seat. The more advanced toilets have knobs or digital indicators for setting the toilet seat temperature, and yes, it is possible to get it too hot. I’ve never heard of an actual burn, but “toasty cheeks” takes an all new meaning here.
- Flushing Noise button – Among the hundreds of potential buttons on a toilet here, one of the ones I have seen in our office building is a “Flushing Noise” button. Effectively, you press it and it makes the sound of a toilet flush. I could not figure out the purpose (I can’t figure most of the buttons out, but this one intrigued me) and had to ask my co-workers. My guess was that it was for when some guy in the stall next to you asks for a courtesy flush and you could fake him out with the fake flushing noise. But, no, apparently it is to be polite and mask the noises you’re making for those in the stalls next to you. Why the button wouldn’t just play music is beyond me.
- Non-perforated TP – This is something I take for granted at home. It’s not the standard, but there are a lot of toilets here that have toilet paper that does not have the perforations to separate out the TP into little squares. Instead, it is one continuous roll and you have to tear it off. It changes pulling off toilet paper from a one hand job into a two hand job. Not the worst thing in the world, but the fact that non-perforated TP exists here is shocking.
- Full length doors – Most stalls in Japan have doors that go all the way to the floor. I once heard a discussion between Adam Carolla and Bill Simmons (The Sports Guy) about full length doors that made me analyze these here in Japan. The doors definitely provide more privacy as Carolla suggests, which can be both good and bad. The Japanese have seemed to attack the light issue by still leaving a gap at the top above the door and having better lighting over individual stalls. I am sure that it makes it more difficult to clean as they also discuss, but I think the Japanese design for the privacy of the user over the difficulty of job by the janitor. Makes sense.
- Auto-raising seats – I cannot figure out how the toilet sensors can tell if I need to stand or sit, but somehow it always seems to know which one. The seat raises when I come up to it and drops back down afterward…all hands free.
- Lack of flushing lever – Often the buttons can be far too complicated to figure out. Last night I spent about 3 minutes trying to find the flush button on a toilet at the bar in Roppongi. I pressed anything I could find, but there was no easy lever or BIG button that made it obvious. In the end, I had to give up and leave the toilet, unflushed, in hopes the next user was more experienced than myself.
- Front and Back Bidet – These toilets are made to spray you from every angle, with varying warmth of water, and then blow dry you afterward. There are at least a dozen buttons for this process and each one will spray or dry you from a different angle. I will admit to trying them all (as I said, curiosity sets in), but have not enjoyed it enough to use again. Warning: Be careful when trying these buttons – there are levers and nozzles that come out of everywhere to attack you.
- Double Flush – There are buttons for the double flush and power flush. It will flush multiple times when you’re complete. In actuality I think there are like 10 buttons for flushing, but I cannot figure out all of the difference between each of them.
Besides these, there are many of the standard buttons you would expect, such as the ability to control the music and lights in the room. There are dozens of other functions that you can find all over Youtube, but I cannot figure them all out yet. All I can say is that it is worth the experience.
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