Toilets in Japan - Part 2
Toilet Use
As well as differences in design between Japanese and western toilets there are also several aspects of toilet use that are different too, and these can result in some interesting new experiences for visitors to Japan. Apart from getting to grips with squat toilets and figuring out how to flush baffling washlets, the use of toilet slippers in homes, hotels and some other buildings is most likely to be a new experience for a lot of foreigners.
Slippers
Even for gaijin who’ve long since gotten used to the custom of shoe removal and slipper wearing in the home, toilet slippers can often present something of a challenge. First you have to exchange your carpet slippers for toilet slippers when you enter the toilet, a procedure that’s made more difficult by having to step out of the carpet slippers (which must remain outside the toilet) directly into the toilet slippers (which must remain inside the toilet) without touching the toilet floor with your socks. Exactly how difficult this is depends a lot on the previous person who used the toilet and whether they bothered to leave the slippers close to the door, facing the correct way and together as a pair.
Further difficulties can arise with the slippers themselves: For foreigners the soles are invariably too small, meaning your heals hang over the back and risk touching the wet toilet floor. Also the straps are often too slack, making it easy for your feet to become separated from your slippers, and I once heard a cautionary tale from a friend whose slipper fell into a squat toilet…
The final hurdle is remembering to remove the toilet slippers when exiting the toilet. This is quite difficult when you weren’t wearing carpet slippers before entering the toilet, and especially difficult when drinking – I have to admit I’ve ended up traipsing through homes and hotels in toilet slippers on more than one occasion when I’ve had a few too many beers.
Privacy
Another difference between Japanese toilets and those in western countries is the issue of privacy. In Britain public toilets always have a partition wall inside the entrance so that people outside can’t see in, whereas in Japan there’s often just an open doorway(1).
Additionally, many public toilets here also have a large open window for ventilation, meaning that it’s impossible to ‘hide your modesty’ from people walking past. Of course, for shy people there are always cubicles in Japanese public toilets so they’re nowhere near as bad as traditional Chinese ones (no cubicles, only a long trough for communal squatting), but I’m sure many visitors to Japan have been surprised by the ‘open plan’ design of public toilets nonetheless
Perhaps this lack of privacy stems from formerly-lax attitudes towards gender segregation and nudity in Japan. Before the American occupation after World War II mixed gender onsen (hot springs) and sento (public baths) were commonplace, which suggests that many public toilets may have been mixed too. Nowadays however, like onsen and sento, all public toilets are segregated although unisex toilets with both urinals and cubicles still prevail in some bars and restaurants.
Further evidence of different attitudes towards gender segregation from those of western societies can be found in the absence of any laws against public urination and, moreover, in the number of occasions I’ve been standing at the urinal in a male-only public toilet and a cleaning lady has come in and started mopping around my feet (due to the general condition of the toilets you realize, rather than any inability to aim at the urinal on my behalf), something you would never see in Britain.
Paper
Something else I’ve never seen in Britain is public toilets with no toilet paper, and yet in Japan it’s quite common. Fortunately a popular method of advertising is the distribution of packets of tissues with company information on them, so it’s easy enough to amass a tissue stash as a precaution. Still, it seems that a surprising number of Japanese people still get caught out, judging by how frequently I see T-shirts and underpants that have been used as a toilet paper substitute then discarded in toilet cubicles.
Disclaimer – while it may seem from this article that I spend a worrying amount of time hanging out in public toilets, I’d like to assure readers that this is not the case – I simply spend too much time thinking about the minutiae of everyday life in Japan.
Notes
(1) – Similarly, on bullet trains, there are always men’s toilets which have only a urinal. These have a window in the door so you can see if anyone’s in there and although you can only see the person from behind; again it’s not something you would ever find in Britain.
Check out the rest of the Toilets in Japan series, parts 1, 3 and 4.
June 29th, 2007 at 10:14 am
I have heard from some Japanese sources that the reason for the open public bathrooms in Japan is for security and safety issues. That did seem odd however due to the very low crime rate in Japan. I guess everything is relative though.
July 10th, 2007 at 8:20 am
Yeah, public toilet design reflecting safety concerns does seem implausible to westerners. Then again, the Japanese are renowned for focusing on design features/details that don’t really make sense to non-Japanese - like the flaps on plastic shopping bags (for cellotaping them shut), the notches in margarine tubs (so you can refrigerate them with a miniature spoon hanging out) etc - so what you say could be right.