toilet

Let's talk toilets. Awkward subject, right? Regardless whether the topic makes you uncomfortable or not, using the restroom is something we all need to do. And doing so in Japan has been quite the experience. When I arrived in Tokyo for my lay over, I decided to use the toilet [as they are called here] between flights. Now that you know that I am over 16 weeks pregnant, it would make sense that the restroom is a place I frequent. In Tokyo, I walked into a stall and was perplexed. In general, the toilets look the same. But on the side there was an attachment with half a dozen buttons. Music, warming, fake flush noise, bidet, and so forth. I was overwhelmed with my options, especially when it came time to flush. I could not, for the life of me, figure it out. Then I closed the lid and realized that flushing was exactly the same as in the States. You just push down on a lever. The next restroom I used automatically started a fake flushing noise to hide the sounds of tinkling and such. That restroom also required you to sanitize the toilet after use. While visiting the Shinto shrines near Iwakuni castle, Jodi pulled me into a bathroom to see the toilets that are more common in Japan. Glorified holes in the ground where you must squat and twist and you are lucky if there is toilet paper for you to use. At Miyajima, there are western style toilets with heated toilet seats. No paper towel for drying your hands, though. Every toilet has been a new experience. Some better than others. But when you gotta go, you gotta go.