Japanese Toilets

As far as I can tell, there are 3 of toilets in Japan. I have had the pleasure of experiencing all 3 in our short time here. One thing that is pretty common, other than in shopping malls or in your house, is the idea that you should change your shoes before entering the bathroom. Where you stand to wash your hands is fine, but to enter the stalls, shoes must be changed. Another similarity is the lack of paper towels. Once you wash your hands, you either have a high powered Japanese hand dryer to use (dries your hands in 3 seconds flat) or you have to use the “shake” technique. Alternatively, I use my cloth (aka sweat rag). Everyone constantly carries one around and I figure you can use it to dry your hands on.

1 – The lowest grade toilet, affectionately known as “the squatter”.
How you are supposed to use this, I’ll never know. I still don’t really know which way to face. Basically this is an oval shaped porcelain bowl, and you place your feet on either side (sometimes there are grips to put your feet on) and then, well, squat. Japanese people must have some good thighs, and I don’t know how older people do it, but they do. Nik had an interesting talk with one of the teachers who is his friend, asking about how you…do more complicated things on one of these toilets. Basically you just squat for longer. Oh boy!
Nik also tells me that there is a difference in urinals too – basically some are less private than others. I don’t want to find out any more.

2 – The average toilet.
Our home toilet is one of these. Basically this is your regular toilet, no frills. Ours is actually a drop-toilet, kind of like on an airplane. Definitely better than the squatter, but not…

3 – The ULTIMATE toilet!
Okay, this one has all the bells and whistles. From the moment you sit down on the perfectly heated seat, you know you are in for something special. There are many buttons to choose from, including 2 bidets (front and rear!), a water pressure adjuster, a water temperature adjuster, a stop button (good to find this one), and sometimes even a button that makes a water sound effect to conceal any unwanted noises!
At both the junior high schools there is an ultimate toilet and a squatter – why anyone would ever choose the latter is beyond me, but they do! I personally like the bathrooms at the mall, where they play nature sounds and the air is ever so slightly perfumed!