Modesty and the Flushing Toilet--August 23, 2005

I first noticed it when using the bathroom at Tokyo's Narita airport. Head in a daze and too tired to care about my sticky, disoriented state, I was relieved to be off of the plane, on solid ground. We were told that the ride to the hotel would be close to two hours, so the time to take a pee was now. Fair enough. Now bathrooms in Japan come in two types: western and non-western. Westerd being the ones you and I are used to and non-western (rather, unmarked) are basically holes in the ground that have been porceleined (word?) over. Squating is necessary, apparently it is better for your internal organs. Not sure I am convinced, not that I know how I would be. Anyways, to get back to the point at hand. I ofcourse, due to both instinct and fear, use the western toilet. Basically identical to those low-flow toilets that often make you nervous of their ability to actually flush, this toilet (and many more I would later come to see) was also equiped with a set of buttons along one side (side=a little arm-rest type thing). Being an illiterate child in this country, I knew what none of the buttons were for (though I tried pushing most of them). However one button had the universal musical note symbol on it. Wow I thought, either this toilet plays music, or has a variety of different flushing sounds, much like the ring tones on a cell phone. Brilliant. So ofcourse, the button is pressed. To my disappoinment, nothing but a loud flushing sound ensued. Not the real thing mind you (for that, there is the slightly out of place, old-fashioned lever), just the sound. Somewhat puzzled at first, I realized that apparently the Japanese have come to terms with their modesty and have integrated the running water trick into their plumbing technology. Conclusion solidified after discussions with others. 

Later on at the hotel , I discovered that the pee-muffling trick comes in more than one form. Some toilets run water as soon as anything touches the seat. For this one, instinct is uselss and I am still deciding which one I prefer. In the meantime, I am looking to find the bowl that plays the hits. I don't think I will find it here in inaka though.