Japanese toilets for foreign visitors

The photo shows the toilet I used in Himeji castle. I saw the same toilets in many places in Japan, including the sign which explains how to use it.

Traditional toilets in Japan are ‘squatters’. My kiwi friends say that they had no idea which way to face. You face towards the porcelain ‘cover’ nicknamed ‘hiding balls’ (which it doesn’t). It is a hard work squatting over the bowl in the right position, and traditional ones are increasingly being replaced by Western-style toilets. I suspect one of the reasons is that Japan is having more and more older people who have difficulty standing up after the job.

The Japanese are hygiene conscious. You squirt anti-bacterial liquid on to a piece of toilet paper to wipe the seat. They are self-conscious. There is a device to make noise (often water in the stream) to hide their own noise. You either push a button, or it automatically starts when you enter the cubicle. When you finish the job, the toilet flushes automatically so you don’t have to touch the button. It washes your front and/or back by squirting water. The seat is heated to avoid the cold shock in winter. Some public toilets have all of these functions, others just some.

Please enjoy some or all of these functions when you visit Japan. Just read the instructions so you don’t make silly mistakes. If you do, it will be a good memory of your stay in Japan, and you can share and laugh about it with your friends.