Monday April 17 2006 - Japanese Toilets

The toilets here are something else. As dirty and primitive as your experiences in Africa, Ginia, well, try going the other direction in technological wonder, cleanliness and efficiency! The toilet doubles as a bidet, with a panel of buttons on the side. God help you if you can't find the manual handle that is used to flush the device if all you want to do is go to the bathroom! There is a thermostat to regulate the temperature of the water, AND of the toilet seat. There is a regulator to control the strength of the spray. There is a button decorated with what looks like a "w", but as one of the 3M guys said at dinner last night, "it’s NOT a w!" (think of what body part a 'w' might look like if you were looking at a seated person from the rear!!!!)

On one of Lee's first trips to Japan he was invited to a Japanese home (a rare honor). He asked to use the restroom and it was one of these toilet/bidets. He couldn't figure out how to flush it and pressed one of the bidet buttons in desperation. Water went spraying all over the very tidy Japanese bathroom! Poor Lee....