Life In Japan: Public Restrooms Redux

Folks here in Japan will wonder about my obsession with public restrooms. They might suspect I had a traumatic potty training and it turned me into a toilet freak.

I plead innocent! Please understand, I just really appreciate the fact that having to take care of something so natural and normal is SO EASY here in Japan. Trust me when I say this — and my American readers will know exactly what I’m talking about — it’s not at all like that in the land of the stars-and-stripes. Half the time, if you can even find a restroom there, you have to buy something or sit down for a meal. A sign you’ll see way too often there reads . . .

Anyway, this particular article is not more evidence I’m in need of serious psychotherapy and/or multiple end-to-end Vipassana retreats in India. It’s merely an update to one of the chapters in my book, LIVE FROM JAPAN! Not surprisingly, that chapter is called ‘Public Restrooms’ and appears in the print version of the book on pages 108-109.

To get to the point, I found TWO MORE public restrooms right downtown, in addition to the eight I identified before.

And here is a map of our downtown area, including the businesses that serve both the local population and the tens of thousands of tourists who come here to enjoy the sights, feast on wild boar, buy soybeans, or participate in the festivals we host. This map will show you the availability of clean, well-maintained, publicly-accessible facilities for you-know-what.

I certainly am not suggesting that next time you hear nature’s call that you think: “Golly, I should go to Tambasasayama!” I’m not saying this is some main attraction. Frankly, this is not at all unusual anywhere in Japan. What it means is that if you come to town, this is not something you’ll even have to think about. Those of you in the U.S. who’ve tried to sneak by a concierge at a hotel or a maitre d’ at a restaurant, those of you who’ve surreptitiously gone around the back of a filling station and then found the rest room door locked, those of you driven by such desperation that you’ve slipped into an alley and secreted yourself behind a dumpster to seek relief, will appreciate how humane and decent it is that Japan takes such good care of people. It’s just one small way that this country shows its big heart.