To Go or Not To Go....



Western style toilet with hand washing sink



Japan is different and unique in so many ways I have to keep jotting down notes in my journal so I will remember before the difference become something you hardly notice any longer. One area we really talk to the students about prior to coming to Japan is the toilets and taking a bath. I know on my first visit to Japan I was amazed how something as simple as going to be toilet and having a bath become a process of having to learn all over again.

In Japan you will come across two types of toilets, the traditional squat style and a westernize model. The westernize toilet is similar to what we have in North America with a few extra features! This included a heated seat , a washing feature for women and one for men as well as a pile of buttons that generally I do not touch. On the back of the toilet there is a basin for rinsing your hands. This is due to the fact that in Japan, the toilet will be found in a small room by itself away from the sink and bath.



Extra features on the toilet



Most bathroom doors do not have locks on them. There is a pair of slippers outside the bathroom, these are the toilet slippers. If the slippers are missing, the toilet is being used by someone. If not, you should be good to go. You do not want to make the mistake of forgetting to either remove your “house” slipper prior to entering the toilet room or wearing the “toilet” slippers around the afterward. If either happens, you beg forgiveness and say “sorry” many times, sorry is a word you learn very quickly and say often.



A traditional squat toilet



Most homes today will have a westernized toilet in them but squat toilets can still be found in many places across the country including most train stations and public locations. I was in a new highrise office tower yesterday in Tokyo and the toilet room was equipped with both squat and western toilets. Public bathrooms can be a little dirty and generally do not have toilet paper or anything to dry your hands with after washing. In Japan, you always carry a little package of tissue paper in your purse as well as a small hand toilet. Whether or not you chose to venture into a public washroom while you are out and about might depend on one – how bad you really need to go and two – where the facilities are located. Using a public facility at a train station would be very different than a highrise office tower.

Now that we have covered the “toilet room” lets move onto bathing. In Japan, the purpose of the bath is to relax. In a Japanese house, the bath is often location off of a small laundry room. This room will generally have a sink and a washing machine (no drier) and provide a area for changing. The bath itself is in a self-contained room, often divided off with sliding doors. The room contains a large and deep bath and then a separate tap with an hand held shower head. You will also find a stool, a basin, generally a mirror on the wall (at sitting height) and some shelves for shampoo, conditioner and soap. The floor in this room is made to get wet and all drains out to a central drain generally under where the tap is. Once you undress in the area outside the bathroom, you enter and wash yourself. This is generally done sitting on the stool and using water in the basin and the hand-held shower head. You wash yourself completed and removed all the soap from yourself prior to entering the tub.



The "bath room"



The tub itself is a shared facility. At the house I am currently staying, the tub is controlled remotely and is programed to fill at a set time to a set temperature. Once this is complete, a song plays on the programming box to let you know the bath is ready to use. Everyone uses the same bath water and generally who gets to go first in the house is based on seniority. Being a guest in a home, you are often given access to the bath first, when the water is the hottest. Once you are done, you remove yourself from the bath, placing a cover over it to contain the heat and dry off, leaving the water in the tub for the next individual.

Public bathing is still very much a part of Japanese culture with public bathhouse found throughout the country. When using a public bath house the process is very similar with washing prior to sliding yourself into the large communal water. Generally when entering and leaving the bathing area, you have a small towel that you can chose to cover the part of yourself you are most concerned about. Generally for women, the towel is not large enough to both areas so you need to decide top or bottom.