Japanese toilets
Continuing on the subject begun a week ago about Japanese toilets, today’s entry changes the theme from the Japanese squatter to the modern, high-tech Japanese toilet.
The photo above is of the toilet in our hotel in Hakone. In the U.S., on rare occasions, you may run into a very fancy toilet that includes a seat warmer. That is nothing compared to what you will find in Japan.
On the above toilet, not only can you warm the seat, you can wash your butt (おしり) or use a bidet (ビデ). I’m not sure why the bidet doesn’t wash your butt, but they have a different button for each. You can adjust the temperature of the seat and the temperature of the water hitting your backside as well. In addition you can adjust the angle and pressure of the water.
That may sound like a crazy number of features on a toilet, but there are others in Japan with many other capabilities as well. You can have your blood sugar tested as you pee, get a full blown enema, have a talking toilet, or get one that makes fake flushing noises with the push of a button so that those nearby can’t hear your bodily noises.
The Japanese take clean to a whole other level. More on that in a future blog entry…
One other nice thing about many toilets in Japan is the wash basin built into the back of the toilet (a feature we also experienced in Scandinavia this past summer). This allows you to wash your hands when you flush with the water that is going in to fill the tank. Not only does this design save on space but it also saves water (compared to how people wash their hands in the states by going to a separate wash basin/sink).
