Yes, sorry to lower the tone but I think we need to talk about toilets and toilet etiquette in Japan. Using the toilet was actually my very first experience in Japan as I took the opportunity to use one whilst we waited for our baggage at the airport when we arrived. That already feels like several weeks ago! Anyway, the world of the Japanese toilet is somewhat bewildering. There are buttons for all sorts of functions that just don’t exist back home. You have to use Google Translate to work out what they all mean although there are some handy pictograms to help out. Anything without a pictograms is probably best avoided. So here are just a few of your choices:
- Wash your front bottom
- Wash your back bottom
- Full bidet
- Adjust the strength of jet
- Play distracting music
- Bottom dryer
- Stop. This is an important one as otherwise the other functions seem to go on forever!
One of the main things we like is that the seat is generally automatically heated. This is such a joy in the middle of the night. Oh and of course the toilet automatically cleans and drys itself after each use and most of them automatically flush. We really do need to up our toilet game back in the UK!
Needless to say the toilets have all been absolutely pristine, even in the station toilets and in tiny cafes. There are however quite a lot of rules around toilet use and toilet etiquette and lots of helpful signs to tell you about these.
Finally, at our onsen hotel (more of which later), the toilet has its own little cupboard with a tiny door. In here it is the law that you must wear only the toilet slippers provided. Thank you.
