8 May 2008

Toilets [Japan]

Public convenience, restroom, bathroom, lavatory, men’s / ladies’ rooms, etc. Call it whatever you like. I prefer to call a spade a spade. The best thing was that all those I saw were free of charge. I don’t mind paying, which is what we often have to in Denmark, it’s just that when I need 'to go' I don’t always seem to have the change I need for the lock, and that’s a nuisance. None of that in Japan.

I came across two main types: either the very simple type with just a porcelain bowl in the floor, or the state of the art, high tech models with a heated seat, bidet function, drier, a choice of sound effects (anything from the ocean or Mozart to a simple flush effect) and in one case LED light. I do not think a pilot’s license for a small aircraft is strictly necessary in order to work the controls, but it would be an advantage. The control panel was slightly intimidating for someone like me, who really just wanted the core performance and none of the fancy stuff. As far as I understood you had a choice of temperature, volume, pressure and direction of the water and air. Anything from a squirt to a jet. And the text was also in braille. Often a manual would be posted on the wall, and I recommend studying it well ahead of the time you would actually need the service.

In one restaurant there was not only the panel next to the bowl, but also a remote control on the wall. I tried to figure out why you would need a remote in a cabin of less than one square meter, where you could reach everywhere, anyway. Maybe you could take the remote with you and give your friend, who went in there after you, a real surprise!

3 comments:

Robert said...

Taking the remote with you...Oh, you are wicked! ;-) Thanks for sharing your experience from Japan. I had to laugh out loud several times.

Anonymous said...

The hi-tech toilet is the best thing Japan has ever made, I think. When I am abroad, the only thing which makes me miss Japan is this.

emenel said...

Robert: Don't worry, my bark is much worse than my bite. I would never really do that....

Shige: I understand you very well. A public toilet on a cold winter day up here is not a very nice experience. We could do with a few of those Japanese style high tech toilets.