What did I miss about Japan?

When I was still in NYC on sabbatical in 2012, I wondered what I missed about Japan. All I could think of was sushi. While we had eaten sushi in NYC, it was not the same. It seemed dead for a long time.

However, after returning to Japan, it came to me while sitting on the toilet. I really missed the washlet toilet. This is an incredible invention. It both warms and washes the behind. It is double W.

Not this toilet.

This one is an obstacle course for me. How do you use? Which way is the front? Which is back? How do I aim when I do a piss? Even more complicated is to squat. I am not known as Mr. Flexible, so my squat looks like a car driver. How do you avoid the splash effect with that squat? These questions run through my head, whenever I find myself stuck with this toilet, often in train stations. Enough on the low hanging toilet.

This is the washlet I am talking about.

As we arrived in Japan in January when the temperature was about 7-degrees Celsius or 44-degrees Fahrenheit, toilet seat warmth is a luxury. In many Japanese apartments, including the one we stayed in, heating is by air conditioners/heaters in each room. In our case we used only the living room/kitchen area and one tatami room for sleeping. Only these rooms were heated.

The toilet is in a very small room. Just enough room to enter and sit. Don’t try to turn around. This is ours.

The cubicle is not heated, so when the temperature is 7-degrees Celsius, outside this room feels like a similar temperature. I have found that a heated seat is much easier to sit on than a 7-degree Celsius nearly frozen seat. One can contemplate about world problems if you forget that your nose and hands are freezing.

The 7-degrees Celsius seat has two immediate results. 1) causing the sitter to scream which, in turn, results in the wife in the living room dropping her cup of tea and screaming back, 2) avoiding toilets altogether. But you can only avoid a toilet for so long. So I love the heated toilet seat.

I also missed the spray that washes the butt, after doing your duty on the toilet. The spray, which is warm, is eco-friendly as a washed rear allows for a reduced use of toilet paper rolls. The 3 R rule: Rear, Reduce, Roll. So I am helping save the earth by spraying my butt. And I feel much cleaner and warmer.

Even now, I do not hesitate to take a toilet stop while studying. If I really need to relax, I will sit down, take a pee or other activity, and contemplate world problems. Or just feel warm.