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Recently, I went to the salon to get a hair cut. I had to wait a long time, and subsequently had to go to the bathroom. This bathroom, looked much older than the building around it. In fact, I think it might contain the first Western-style toilet in Japan (sit-down style). The room was dark and dirty, reminding me of war movie scenes. But was so interesting about this toilet, was the fact that there were instructions pasted on it. These very old and tattered instructions had text and drawings to aid a person to use the toilet properly. You might think this odd, but I've through Asia, and know that most Asians don't use Western toilets in the way they had been intended to be used. In several countries, I have gone into the bathroom and found smartly dressed women in heels, climbing onto the toilet, to relieve themselves. This, in turn, forced me to use it the same way, because I didn't feel comfortable sitting on, or even hovering over a toilet seat that was wet and grimy from the many dirty shoes that had been on it. I truly believe that some people really don't know how to use Western toilets. But, I think the main reasons were either sanitary, or just a deviation from the known. I've been with Americans who knew how to use a squat-toilet, but chose to hold their urine until a Western toilet could be found. They felt more comfortable using the sit-down one, and also found it easier to use. Valerie Straayer |