Impressive to say the least

Going from South Africa to Japan was a big change for me. The safety aspect unbelievable in this day and age. Cleanliness of public space - never dreamt imaginable.

Every time a car stopped at the lights I wanted to give the driver a hug. Cars would rather wait for pedestrians than take the gap. If you are walking along the sidewalk, oblivious to the thought of crossing the road, but there is a zebra crossing that comes up along side you - low and behold, cars would brake and stop just to make certain that you are not planning on crossing!

People walking down the street don't spit on the ground in front of me or snort back - I want to applaud them.

And the toilets, oh the toilets! After SA's traumatic experiences the public toilets in Japan are pure bliss. Research into this rather filthy realm revealed the following of interest, I will try keep it clean.

Sure, everybody poops. The only difference is HOW we go about doing it. Dating as far as 14,000 BC, researchers have found Japan was far ahead of its time in keeping things tidy.

The Modern Toilet

After World War II, like much of Japan's culture, an influx of western ideals and technologies quickly reshaped the nation and its toilet culture. The traditional botton benjo (ぼっとん便所), or squat toilet as pictured here, is being quickly replaced with modern western-style toilets however they sure do still exist.

Japan's westernized toilets set the stage for multiple versions that landed a seat in the Guinness Book of World Records for its plethora of features. Within the various options available include a heated seat, warm-water self-cleaning bidet, automatic deodorizer, and noise-canceling systems.

Public toilets are sparkling clean as per usual, with all the different buttons you can play with. Sinks often have automatic soap dispensers, an automatic water tap and an automatic hand dryer - all in the one sink! And as if the luxury of being able to clean your hands without touching a single thing wasn't enough there was a vanity area to reapply your makeup. Added to this, when you sit down it automatically starts a flushing sound so that others couldn't hear you do your business. When you stood up it automatically flushed. Toilet luxury. And a public toilet at that.

Since then I have of course visited some of Japan's less savoury public toilets, and squatting one's. But they are still better than SA's top ranks.

In a nutshel, Japan's public ablutions are known for their high standards a few of which I will summarize in the next list:

1. Most toilets have heated seats, which make winter usage much more pleasant.

2. "Otohime" or sound princess can be used to cover the sound of bodily functions by broadcasting the sound of a toilet flushing through a small, push button speaker system.

3. Some public toilets have automated disposable/clean toilet seat paper covers. Often you will find chemical cleaning sprays as well.

4. Toilet slippers are meant for just the toilet, as historically in Japan, toilets were located outside of the house. Do not wear them out of the bathroom!

5. Many home toilets have a wash basin set on top of the toilet water tank.

6. Public toilets may not have towels, paper towels or dryers to dry your hands, BYOH-Bring your own hankerchief.

7. "Washiki" is the Japanese term used for traditional squat toilets.

8. Broken public toilets in Japan are not common, but public toilets without paper ARE common! BYOH!

9. By JSA standards, Japanese toilet paper must dissolve within 100 seconds when placed in water. Beware of clogging with foreign bought toilet paper!

More pics on this research topic can be found in a photo albumn - called "Ablutions" under the Tokyo Location