ESCAPE BLOG

“what would you do (to prepare yourself) prior to your first trip to Japan?,” I asked around. Standard answers were:

• learn how to say hello (konnichiwa) and thank you (duomo arigato)
• brush up on sign language (for those who do not speak japanese)
• practice the use of chopsticks
• withdraw tons of cash (heard it’s expensive there! was often heard)

None of them knew about toilet culture shock most people from the Western ’sitting-on-the-toilet’ world go through when they reach Japan. Most would-be visitors only expect high-tech gizmos such as this.

Truth be told, a lot of visitors, during the course of their stay in Japan, meet squat toilets and are at a loss as to how to use it. I mean, it should be easy to figure it out but it is very important to use it properly otherwise…

So here I am with my handy tip to prevent toilet culture shock on your next trip to Japan… with a handy guide on how to use a Japanese style toilet.

PS: Do include “learning how to balance while squatting” on your to-do list, as well. Trust me, you wouldn’t want to smell like crap.   And I mean that literally.