They play music, they make flushing sounds, they heat your bottom, and they even clean up after you when you are all through with your business. I am talking about the toilets here in Tokyo. These toilets are not just located in your fancy hotel room bathroom. You will see them in the airport, shopping malls, and restaurants. D and I took a trip to the Mega Electronic Store in Shibuya to see if we could get one to bring back to Hong Kong. We would have loved to have purchased one...if only we could have read the information that went along with them...or understood the salesman who was having a full conversation with us in Japanese.
I should mention that these amazing toilets are not everywhere. Occassionly, you will run into the not so pleasant toilet in the floor. The ones in Tokyo are not as bad as the hole they have in China but they still require you to get into the squat postion. As most of you could have guessed, I did not use the bathroom facilities at this place.
They give instructions for those who are brave enough to give it a try!
Tokyo really is an amazing city. There is so much to here from visiting old Japanese Shrines and gardens, to eating at some of the finest restaurants, to SHOPPING SHOPPING SHOPPING! The Japanese don't care that you can't understand what they are saying. They speak to you in full sentences as if you understand and then you nod your head, place your Yen in the little tray and say Arrigato Gozaimasu.
I have now been in Tokyo for 3 days and I have learned the following:
*Slurping your noodles is more than acceptable...it means you are enjoying your meal
*Taking your shoes off before entering an establishment is widely practiced....this includes ANA Flight 98 from Hong Kong to Narita.
*Blowing your nose in public is unacceptable (we found this one out before we got here)
*Dressing up like a school girl is very popular with the teenagers as well as the woman in their 20's, 30's, ....and is enjoyed by some of the the local businessmen
*It you want your food cooked, don't eat in this city
*Bowing is a great way to work out your stomach muscles
*No one here speaks any English
*Kit Kats come in a variety of flavors including wasabi
*General Tso's chicken is to Hong Kong as California rolls are to Tokyo...they both don't exist
A couple of other things you should know about in Japan:
ReplyDelete1. CAREFUL WHAT YOU EAT -- Raw horse meat is a popular food in Japan. Make sure you know what you are ordering. Even if it says tuna, it might be Mr. Ed.
2. STAY AWAY FROM CHANKONABE -- Sumo wrestlers eat a stew called Chankonabe to fatten up. Many restaurants in the Ryogoku district of Tokyo serve this nabe. Chankonabe = fat.
3. DON'T BUY FRUIT -- I know you are terrible with currency conversion. Good melons, similar to a cantaloupe, may sell for over $300 USD. A Black Densuke watermelon from the island of Hokkaido sold for $6,125 USD!
4. BEWARE OF ACTIVE VOLCANO -- Mt. Fuji, the tallest mountain in Japan, is an active volcano. Be careful when visiting.
5. WEAR SLIPPERS ON THE HOT SEAT - Since you seem to love the heated toilets in Japan, you should know that when you use the restroom in some one's home, you should put on special bathroom slippers so you don't contaminate the rest of the home.
6. WATCH OUT FOR EARTHQUAKES - there are around 1,500 earthquakes every year in Japan. So that equates to about 4 a day while you are there.
7. D, STAY OUT OF TROUBLE - Some men in Japan shave their heads to apologize. If D does anything wrong, I don't want him to need new haircut to be forgiven.
8. M, DON'T BREAK UP WITH D - Some women in Japan cut their hair after breaking up with a boyfriend/husband. Keep D around, I like the way your hair looks.
9. WHITE TEETH ARE NO GOOD -- Don't get your teeth whitened at the Hong Kong flea market before visiting Japan. In ancient Japan it was customary for women to blacken their teeth with dye as white teeth were considered ugly. (OK, this practice ended in the late 1800's but I figured I'd let you know anyway).
10. CAREFUL WHEN BOWING -- You may think bowing is a great way to work your stomach muscles, but be careful! Tokyo has had 24 recorded instances of people either killed or receiving serious skull fractures while bowing to each other with the traditional Japanese greeting.
Also, a few phrases to give you something to say back to the store clerks when they are talking to you:
"Akinasu wa yome ni kuwasuna" - translation: Don't let your daughter-in-law eat your autumn eggplants
"Saru mo ki kara ochiru" - translation: Even monkeys fall from trees
"Kaeru no ko wa kaeru" - translation: Child of a frog is a frog
Tanoshinde!!!
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ReplyDeleteCan the toilets speak to Nemo and Floyd?
ReplyDeleteKrisssss!
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