So I’m going to go on about Japanese toilets yet again. I think toilets have been mentioned many than any other on topic on this here blog. I’m fixated. Freud would surely have a field day with that little detail.But how could they not interest you. I mean look at the little control panel on the average washlet above. You feel like you’re captaining a starship when you’re sitting down on one. Half the time I have to stifle my ‘Engages’ and my ‘Make it so’s’ when I answer nature’s call.
Basically, they are just a technologically advanced bidet / toilet. But all those buttons, to play with... Water jets, massage functions, water pressure, water temperature, nozzle direction, nozzle-head cleaning, warm-air drying. Fun!
They can be a little intimidating for the uninitiated. Even more so because they usually aren’t written in English. There are many stories of visitors to Japan getting a powerful squirt in the eye, having confused the water jet for the flush.
PS For all you dirty minded readers out there examining the above picture with a good Japanese dictionary, the button for nozzle cleaning refers to the machine and not to the user!
PPS Lest I give the impression that these advanced machines are prevalent all over Japan, I hasten to add that Japan is all about context. These machines are not cheap, so you usually only find them in your swankier establishments and homes. Previous visitors to me here will testify that, depending on where you go, you can spend an equally alarming amount of time squatting over a sparkling clean, porcelain hole in the ground.
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