Thursday, December 10, 2009

トイレ Troubles

Alright, my house`s internet is for the moment, so I will be updating with a short entry I was saving as a supplement to a larger one. My apologies in advance for the bizarre nature of this post.

I`d like to talk about Japanese bathrooms for a moment. I`m sure those who have travelled to or are familiar with Japan already know about the squat toilets but, though they are a bit strange, that`s not what I`m going to be talking about. Instead, I`d like you to think of any public bathroom in America. With few exceptions, it has been my experience that public bathrooms in the states are designed with privacy in mind and incorporate some manner of turn or wall just inside the door to prevent passerbys from glancing in. It`s like an unwritten law that all bathrooms be built this way (or perhaps a written law, for what do I know about building construction). However, such is not the case with some Japanese restrooms. Indeed, the restroom at the branch office that I go to once a week not only has a line of sight from the door to the urinals, but the door remains open all the time. And imagine the unease I felt when I discovered that no less than three of my schools have clear windows that look into the restrooms from the outside. I don`t remember covering this at any orientation, but I feel it only fair to warn those thinking of life in Japan of this phenomenon, minor though it may seem.