I live where my host family's 3 children used to so I have my own bathroom. In Japan, the toilet is almost always separated from the rest of the bathroom and mine is no different. The sink/mirror/shelf combination is very convenient and the head of the faucet comes off with a flexible hose for doing things like washing your hair. If you have hair that is.
As you may have heard, Japanese toilets are technological marvels. This one is controlled remotely via the panel on the wall. The toilet has a seat heater as well as a deodorizing feature. The thing I find most interesting about this toilet is the miniature sink on top of the tank. While I'm not sure exactly why this is a common feature of Japanese toilets, when you flush, the water that will re-fill the tank comes out of the faucet on top allowing the user to wash their hands with the water before it enters the tank. Kinda nifty though not super useful in my opinion.
Toilet paper in Japan isn't always perforated so the dispenser has teeth that grip the paper when you pull up, making it easier to tear.
Like many toilets in Japan, this one has a bidet feature. Though I haven't been brave enough to use it, it appears that from this panel, you can control the angle, as well as the temperature of the water.
You flush the toilet by pressing one of the two button on the top of the panel. To save water there are two flushing options, a large (大) and a small (小) flush. I'll let you guess what each one is for. I've seen this feature on a few American toilets so I hope it's catching on outside Japan.
Truly I'm living in Paradise.
The little sink is a nice example of grey water usage. Assuming you're going to wash your hands after you go, this then re-uses the wash water for later flushing, instead of sending it straight to the sewers. Thus you get two uses out of it instead of one!
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