Monday 31 March 2014

What’s flushing in Japan?

Written by Jerald Chan


You probably think that you already know about most of the weirdness (or for some, coolness) that the Japanese have to offer already. But, have you seen their toilets? It looks like something that is out of this world.

The Japanese have always been known to love cleanliness and are always one step ahead in technology. When I first saw the toilet bowl here in Japan for the first time, I was kind of dumb founded. There are so many functions to it, you might need a manual for it.



Here is a list of functions that the typical Japanese toilet bowl have:


1. Warm toilet seat

You’ll definitely be grateful for this function, especially in a country like Japan where temperatures can drop to single digits. I’m sure we’ve all gotten that sudden cold shudder when our tenderness comes into contact with a freezing toilet seat. For that, Japan has the warm toilet seat.

2. Flushing music

Ever felt uncomfortable using the toilet in public due to the noise you might make? Fear not, because Japanese technology has come to the rescue, again. When using the toilet, a sound effect of flushing water will start playing to drown out any undesired noises you might be making. This function may work manually or automatically for different toilet seats.  

The artificial flushing sound effect may get annoying at some point of time, so if you wish to stop it. All you need to do is press the large stop button.

3. Spray / Bidet

If you’re too lazy to use tissues to clean yourself up, do not fret. Japanese toilets can clean up for you too. This function may be seen in European countries as well, but is not common in all other Asian countries.

No sexism intended, the ‘spray’ function is for men only; and the ‘bidet’ function is only for women. Well, you can always try using the opposite gender’s, but just be warned that you might be in for a wet mess. If you don’t know what a bidet is, it is a tube that emerges from the back of the bowl upon activation. It will then proceed to spray water to cleanse your bottom.

Strangely enough, the spray/bidet has pretty good aim. You can even adjust the water pressure to one of your comfort.

Photo taken from: http://readwrite.com/files/files/toto-washlet-nozzle.jpg


4. Air dry

Some toilet bowl models come with an ‘air dry’ function as well. It basically works like a hair dryer for your tenderness. If you wish to dry yourself, just press the button. Extremely handy in cold weather.

5. Deodoriser

We all know that the Japanese are extremely polite and courteous - always putting the interest of others above themselves. So when it comes to the inevitable bad stench in the toilet, they have it covered too. If you feel that the stench is overwhelming, you just have to press this button that will spray a citrus smelling substance out. It’s basically a deodorant for toilet bowls.

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Now that you have found out all about the futuristic toilet bowl of Japan, the question in mind now is “since it’s so cool and useful, why isn’t it used outside of Japan?”

Well, there aren’t any concrete theories as to why this isn’t trending elsewhere in the world. But most of what I researched suggested that it was due to the fact that people are uncomfortable with trying new things or even talking about such intimate stuff.

However, we all have to agree that this is definitely way cooler than your traditional toilet. And personally, I think that it’s a pretty well thought and intelligent machine.

Hopefully, this will be available in Singapore in the near future. It obviously provides a more hygienic solution and enhances everyone’s experience in the toilet. But at the end of the day, I think that it all boils down to whether Singaporeans are able to maintain the cleanliness and wellbeing of these first world machines.

The government probably wouldn’t want to fund such expensive bowls to the public if they are just going to be spoiled by inconsiderate users.


In short, we all have to learn how to take care of the current toilets before we ‘upgrade’ to the sophisticated Japanese machine of a toilet bowl.

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