Japanese toilets have come a long way in just a few decades, going from the “squat style” facility in the floor (still found in more remote areas) to the high tech mini-thrones you can avail yourself of today.
Walk up to today’s toilet in Japan and the lid may automatically open, or it may require a mere push of a button. Sit down on the seat and you’ll find it pleasantly warm. Finish your business and a warm water spray will wash your derriere then dry it with a blast of warm air. What’s more, most of these amenities, such as the degree of warmth and the strength of spray, are adjustable to your personal preference.
But with all these options come some cross-cultural confusion for those who don’t read Japanese. Yes, there are symbols to help you decipher the buttons’ functions, but these have not been standardized and are not always obvious, leaving you awkwardly sitting there perplexed. But worse, experimenting while standing over the toilet, may, in fact, provide you with an undesired shower!
Responding to the influx of foreign tourists and their confusion at times of urgency, Japan has registered a set of six pictograms with the International Organization for Standardization as the global standard. This is all well and fine, but the meaning of each may take more than a little guesswork.
To save you the agony of detective-level decoding when nature is calling, we provide you here the six pictograms and their meanings. However, even though these are now the registered global standard, don’t expect them to be standardized in Japan just yet.
Raises the lid
Raises the toilet seat
Washes the rear
Bidet wash
Small flush
Large flush
Japan Sanitary Equipment Industry Association says it hopes this creates "a toilet environment that anyone can use with peace of mind".
