A word about Japanese toilets…….

 I didn’t know about the world of fancy toilets until moving to Japan. Almost everywhere you go has a heated toilet seat (ahhhhh), bidet, music (to mask any embarrassing sounds), and many other functions! (On our first weekend here, Eva hit the bidet function, thinking it was the flush, and got doused with toilet water. Poor kid! I don’t think she has fully recovered!)

There are special seats to hold your baby.

There are toddler seats that fold down over the adult seat. If you have ever taken a toddler to a public restroom, you will appreciate the genius of this!

There is also almost always a low sink for kids. How nice would that have been to not hold a toddler up for hand washing! Again, why don’t we have this?

Many of the malls have these special kid bathrooms in the hallway. Mom or Dad can easily help, even with other kids or strollers in tow. There is a tiny urinal, which I am sure would be nice, and a very small toilet behind the little door. Genius!

There is always seat sanitizer you can use. However, I have yet to see a disgusting bathroom. We have been in train stations, public parks, McDonald’s, truck stops, you name it, they are always clean and I have NEVER seen any graffiti. Amazing!

This chart was in a truck stop to alert you to an available stall. Also to which stalls have what amenities. 

You could even buy new nylons in the truck stop bathroom’s vending machine (the subject of vending machines will be a whole other blog!) .

And last, but not least, this is a traditional Japanese toilet. Most bathrooms have both styles (thankfully), just hold on to the bar and squat! Ella asked to try this kind (my adventurer) and giggled the entire time, Eva had to use it once out of necessity, and I am still holding out!

But one thing is for sure, I will be bringing back a heated toilet seat to the States, as a gift to myself!