Most importantly, if you enter a Japanese washroom and they are selling pocket packs of kleenex by the entrance for 100 yen, BUY SOME! This generally indicates that the stalls do not come equipped with toilet paper so you're on your own to supply it, or drip dry.
I've yet to see a paper towel dispenser in a Japanese washroom. Air dryers are sometimes present. Most Japanese people carry a washcloth or handkerchief with them at all times. It's a good habit to get in to.
Squat toilets are quite common. Don't fear them. They are actually fairy easy to use unless you are drunk or have a physical disability that would prevent you from balancing in a squatted position. In fact, when I am wearing Locutus on my back, they are easier to use than a sit-down toilet. Sometimes they stink. Sometimes our public washrooms stink too.
Restaurants aren't required to have public washrooms. Neither are stores. Get used to using train stations and using whatever facilities are available before you leave places.
Some washrooms come equipped with multi-functional seats. If you don't understand the buttons, don't push them unless you consider yourself a stoic, brave adventurer. Just don't squat on a sit-down toilet.
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| This is not a squat toilet, do not squat on it! |
Now on to my wishlist . . .
1. Stall doors that fit better and go down to the floor and higher than the ceiling. Obviously, in a culture where squat toilets are normal, a normal stall door goes all the way to the floor. This prevents unexpected toddler visitors during your stay as well. A taller door also prevents people from grabbing your coat and/or purse, while you are otherwise indisposed.
2. Multipurpose rooms. Often times in train stations or department stores, we would find a room that was designated a 'multi-purpose room.' This means that it could accommodate someone who needed wheelchair access, it also would have a change table in it. And sometimes other things. Like a fold-out bed, essentially.
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| A full folding bed was handy for diaper changes |
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| This one also had a mini-stall for other small children to use |
I just think this is incredibly clever. In case you are just feeling ill, you've got a spot to lie down. It also works for a first aid station if someone has a cut or takes a fall. Most of them had a sink in the room. Some of them were even more posh and also would serve as a nursing room and had a bottle-warmer as well.
3. A little-boy urinal in the ladies room.
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| A little urinal for little boys who need to go to the washroom with their mommy |
The little boy doesn't have to wait and all the ladies don't have to wait for him while he takes up a stall. It's just smart!
4. A baby-seat in the stalls. This would work in either men's or ladies' rooms. It gives you a place to put your baby so they aren't getting into trouble while you go to the bathroom. There technically is a falling hazard, but since the stall is so small that you should be able to grab your baby while sitting on a toilet, I don't see why this wouldn't work. Except that our stalls are too flimsy in construction.
Something which I would like to see change in general too.
Let's not limit my wishlist just to public washrooms and such either. While the heated seats are nice, and the bidet functions do come in handy, they aren't necessarily on my wish list. Let's move on to the shower/tub section of the bathroom now.
1. On demand hot water. Move water heaters to the spot behind the water source. Then I don't have to wait and pump out cold water for 5 minutes while waiting for the hot water from our water heater in the garage to move up to our third floor.
2. Separate the temperature and pressure control in the shower/bath. One dial controls temperature and another controls the pressure. Not the norm in every hotel bathroom, but boy was it nice when it was set up that way! There even appeared to be a safety button on the temperature control to prevent scalding. At home in my shower there is one generic pressure setting and you can't get cold water to come out at a strong water pressure.
3. A handheld shower head with 2 brackets at different heights. This came in so handy!!! First of all, if you've got a kid who is a mess, you just stand them in the bathtub, take the handheld sprayer and hose them down. You get nice warm water right away if you've got number 1 & 2 in place already. We also used it to clean out messy diapers and easily rinse off messy towels (eating strawberry yoghurt with a 1 year old will make it look like there's been a homicide).
4. A pause button on the sprayer. You can turn the shower on and then pause it, without having to completely reset your pressure setting to off. Also very handy, if a bit of a luxury item. It also lets you move the sprayer within reach of the toilet and sink without getting water all over the floor. Not that this is an issue, since most Japanese bathrooms have a drain built into the pre-fab washroom floor.
5. Let's not forget the mirror with a heated panel that doesn't fog up. Love that too!
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