Insane Japanese Toilets

by 38 Comments

Japan is known for their crazy advanced technology the world over. And one thing that the Japanese have enjoyed for years that has yet to catch on in America is ridiculously complicated and awesome toilets. Take the poop-powered motorcycle for example. And some toilets even include games for you to play while you relieve yourself. I’ve collected a handful of interesting, informative, and sometimes hilarious videos that encompass all that makes Japanese toilets so crazy.

Toilets of the Future

This has to be one of the most insane Japansese bathrooms I have ever seen. It appears like there are 3 toilets? Maybe 2 toilets and one crazy sink? I’m not sure, but this is definitely one of the nuttiest Japanese bathrooms I have ever witnessed.

In this video we have one crazy gaijin explaining to us other gaijin how these crazy toilets work. It’s a pretty good demo video that shows off most of the common features in these advanced Japanese potties.

This video shows off some other cool features of Japanese toilets such as music to listen to as you do your business and a toilet seat that lowers and raises itself at the press of a button. Fantastic.

Check out the crazy control panel on this toilet setup. This is definitely one of the nicest, most futuristic toilets I have ever seen. For more information on everything involving Japanese toilets, you can check out the Wikipedia page here.

This video shows how Japanese toilets can actually pee on unsuspecting victims. The future is a scary place. You’ve been warned.

Traditional Toilets With a View

Pretty relaxing, wouldn’t you agree? For some reason I have a hard time picturing scenic bathrooms like this in America. I just don’t think they’d be appreciated.

And if these kinds of hole-in-the-ground toilets look strange to you, it’s because they’re traditional style toilets. Like, from the olden days. You’ll find them in Japan sometimes as well as other parts of the world. Basically, you squat over them when you’re doing your business. I’ve never used one myself, but I can confirm that they are, in fact, toilets.

And for those of you who have always been befuddled by these hole-in-the-ground toilets, here’s a video giving you a basic rundown of how they’re used. Do not under any circumstances attempt to use one of these toilets without the proper training. Improper usage can result in embarrassing messes and sadness.

Crazy Public Toilet

Talk about elaborate. I never saw any of these when I was traveling around Japan so I’m not sure how abundant they are but boy are they something else. Probably pretty expensive too.

And speaking of expensive, check out this $130,000 jewel encrusted toilet. Worth it? No, no, not at all.

Remember how I mentioned poop-powered motorcycles earlier? Yeah, that’s a real thing.

The Simpsons

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IumurVLswvo

Like most other crazy things from Japan, Japanese toilets have also been featured on The Simpsons. My apologies for the lousy video quality but it was the only version on YouTube I could find in English.

Even Potty Training is Wacky in Japan

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xx8JhSkMg0U

I’m sure many of you have seen or heard of Shimajiro and the wonky potty training videos he has floating around the internet. Why don’t we have videos like this in America? Kids would get potty trained much sooner, I’m sure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Zr8bYo-tks

And if potty training videos aren’t enough, they even have potty training toys. I can’t imagine the faces little Japanese kids must make opening up gifts like this on Christmas morning. Insanity.

And judging from the fact that Toto (the primary manufacturer of these awesome potties) has an American website, it looks like people in America can get their hands on these toilets if they really want to. Apparently there’s a Toto dealer about 5 miles away from where I currently live. With these toilets being so widely available in America, why haven’t I ever seen any of them around here? What gives?

So tell me, have you had any crazy toilet experiences in Japan? Seen any crazy potties that I failed to include here? Wish these future toilets were more popular in your home country? Let us know in the comments!

Saturday Timewaster is a weekly post that features Japanese videos, music, images, or games that will certainly waste your time (some weeks more than others). We hope you enjoy!

  • Mushi

    Nice! I love the fancy Nagasaki toilet!

  • ZXNova

     Japanese Toilets for the win. The Japanese Toilet is the only toilet you could have fun with…

  • Daee

    I remember in japan a few of the toilets had a button that had music notes on it. When you pressed it, it made this really weird and obviously fake flushing sound, I found it hilarious.
    I love how crazy, and somewhat advanced, japanese toilets are, especially the bidet functions. XD

  • Peptron

    Now that I have watched that, I guess the song that will haunt my next week will be:

    Oshikko deru kana?
    Oshikko deru kana?
    Shiishii, sukkiri!
    Unko deru kana?
    Unko deru kana?
    Un, un, ganbare!

  • Peptron

    Correction, he doesn’t say “Unko”, he says “Unchi”.

  • John

    hahahaha, my apologies for bringing this upon you.

  • Mule1967

    I certainly appreciate using a toilet with an ass-blaster, it saves time and a lot of paper work!

  • ianclarksmith

    Toto and INAX both have major distribution in the US, UK, and Europe. My parents installed a Toto years ago but without the washlet (which is what does all the work), though I can think of a couple houses with one installed. If anyone’s interested, you can even buy them on Amazon. The lower end will set you back a couple hundred dollars, the higher end you should be able to get under $2k. Just make sure you have an outlet near the toilet, unless you want to run it on an extension cord…

  • John

    I don’t know anyone who has one of these outside of Japan. It’d be pretty cool though.

  • http://twitter.com/shollum Shollum

    I’d have a field day in a Japanese bathroom.
    I mean, I get excited over the automatic paper towel dispensers in American bathrooms! Imagine how much fun it be to play with those toilets…

  • John

    Hours upon hours of entertainment.

  • http://www.twitter.com/christaran Chris Taran

    Are Toto toilets as insanely expensive in Japan as they are in the US? Cause the price is probably the #1 reason no one in America owns these things.

  • http://twitter.com/jyuichi jyuichi

    Costco has been known to carry off-brand versions for under 200$. You will make it up in toilet paper savings (especially with women)

  • cpd

    Great article as always with Tofugu :) The one thing I always wondered about with the squat toilets, is how do you not wizz on your pants if you have to push them down? I read this: http://www.wikihow.com/Use-a-Squat-Toilet and so I guess you push down to the knees and keep your bits out of the way as you go? I think I prefer the high-tech ones :D

  • http://twitter.com/jyuichi jyuichi

     We have an Inax washlet from a local Japanese store in CA and it was well worth the investment. Toto also makes a “travel washlet” (70$ on amazon) that is a cheap alternative for a home with no power structure.

  • John

    Yeah I’ve never been a big fan of the old-style toilets.

  • http://twitter.com/LaurenMadAgain Lauren Madigan

    i live in outback australia and a neighbouring town with a population of about 20,000 had one of these futuristic toilets. it was awesome! it was painted really colourful and had the music and all. but the locals trashed it, so it got taken away. :(

  • John

    Aw man, that sucks :(

  • japaneselibrarian
  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Leisslie-Agis/100002593747500 Leisslie Agis

    o_o wow… that is alot more information than I wanted to know… about… toilets…. xD 

  • Jateku

    We need toilets like this in America?…xD 
    Then we could ”go the natural way”^O^

  • Jskdf

    The normal and advanced toilets are usually ok enough, but I don’t understand why squat toilets still exist. I guess maybe ’cause it would make going in a kimono/yukata easier. But they’re so disgusting and NO ONE seems to know how to use them without missing.

    You hear all the time how “advanced” bathrooms here are, but it’s pretty disappointing that when almost all public places have unbearably disgusting bathrooms. Don’t care if a toilet in some hotel can wipe my ass, I want more bathrooms that aren’t filthy and don’t smell like moldy piss. :(

  • http://designkultur.wordpress.com/ Michael McCarthy

    Great topic! Thanks for all the research and compiling these videos. I miss Japan and its toilet fixation. Toto rules! (Know anything about that name?) Best, Michael

  • Tokyo_Ben

    I’m sorry, but dumping a bunch of random toilet-related youtube videos with an attempt at witty commentary in between doesn’t make a good blog post. This was a topic where you had the chance to say something informative, make Japan a little less mysterious, and still post something interesting. Instead, you seem to be just saying, “Wow! Japan is so crazy!! LOL!” and perpetuating the stereotypes surrounding Japan, which I just found irritating. The internet doesn’t need any more misinformation about Japan. I respect tofugu.com because you guys have been informative and a good resource for learning more about Japan, but this post was seriously disappointing to me. Timewaster indeed.

  • Nkl

    The squat toilets are pretty easy to use, just remember to take your keitai out of your pocket before you squat, otherwise you’ll have to wash more than your hands. And ladies, it’s a lot easier to squat in a skirt then pants, I’ve learned.

  • nkl

    Toto washlets in North America don’t have all the crazy contraptions as their counterparts in Japan, just big and small flush, bidet and heated seats. I’m starting to see them in new homes and establishments built in the last year or two. Toto is really pushing their products at conventions.

  • John

    I don’t really see how any of this is misinformation, but like you said it is a Saturday Timewaster so the post is mostly just quips and video clips but I did link to the Japanese toilet Wikipedia page which is fairly thorough on all things dealing with Japanese toilets for those who wanted to expand their knowledge on the topic. Most of the videos do a good job of showing all of the toilet functions and detailing what they’re capable of, I just thought it would be informative for those who had never had the opportunity to go to Japan and see them first hand. I was not trying to perpetuate stereotypes of any kind and I’m sorry you feel that way.

  • Joseph Becker

    I think we’ll be using these in the future.

  • John

    What is that exactly?

  • http://twitter.com/lifeyoutv Jonathan Feltham

     Ho, the toilet with the view is cool! want one like this at home ^_^ if I had the place of course!!
    btw, thanks for posting one of my vid ^_^  

  • John

    Of course! Thanks for making the video!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Lee-Jack/100003042351289 Lee Jack

    insanely expensive ? most of them are in hundreds not thousands of dollars. Consider it’s something you use everyday, it’s really worth it.

  • John

    Yeah they didn’t seem too outrageously priced to me.

  • broken_face

    I had the chance to try out a Japanese Super-Toilet while vacationing in Tokyo. Having never used a bidet before, I was alarmed when after pressing the button, there erupted a “charging up” noise like some kind of ion canon. Though I was initially scared, during the “process” I was amazed at its awesome aim. 

  • broken_face

    That’s the 3 Seashells from Demolition Man, of course.

  • http://www.vietamins.com Viet

    Code 187. Code 187!

    Have you ate at the Taco Bell recently? Such high-end luxury dining. 

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003410150338 Nicole Yamagawa

    I have experienced the squat-toilets twice since I got here.. Both of which, I almost fell into, so yes, proper training is necessary!
    My favorite one though was a toilet that started playing music as soon as I sat down on it.

  • nailah

    omg i want a toilet like that there all awesome