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Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

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Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#291

Post by CamperBob2 »

aptimpropriety wrote: post #9

Every one of these articles gets the pitch of these toilets completely wrong - for every person, and in every scenario, these are not universally better. Consider the following experiment: Smear some mud on your arm. Now, using a jet stream the power of a squirt gun and very low precision, wash it all off in 10 seconds. Not so easy. Then - imagine if you put mud on a place with hair! Not only will it not be clean wit…

Then - imagine if you put mud on a place with hair!

Sounds like you just answered the question of why these are popular in Japan but not in America.

Doesn't explain their popularity in Europe, though.

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#292

Post by infinii »

crusso wrote: post #140
ErrantX wrote: post #71

Also, economics. These toilets currently cost ~$500 more than a "normal" toilet. Of course, you do use significantly more toilet paper with the latter, but a pack is ~$5 and lasts ~ 1 month, so you'd still be looking at, what 8-10 year return on investment.

but a pack is ~$5 and lasts ~ 1 month Ah, I remember my bachelor days too.

Lol, he obviously doesn't have a woman in the house.

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#293

Post by yozmsn »

ksmiley wrote: post #52
patio11 wrote: post #5

Toto's primary sales channel is "If you build a house or office in Japan and don't specifically talk to your architect/contractor about your post-bowel movement preferences we will take the liberty of using the most current model Toto has available and then invoice you cost plus labor plus 50%." Toto does not have that relationship with the person responsible for picking your toilet. Why does Toto have that relations…

Nice insight on the sales approach. Is there any particular reason that this technique doesn't work outside of Japan? American construction companies might not care about a wreath, but surely drinking and promises of additional profits would be universally effective.

I know that this practice is outlawed for doctors and Pharma companies, the most they can give doctors these days are some free pens and drug samples :P

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#294

Post by ameasure »

ahlatimer wrote: post #73
w1ntermute wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> every visitor to your house would make a comment requiring you to justify having "fringe" bathroom habits. Wouldn't this have been the case in Japan in the early 80s too, when Washlets first came to the market?

While discussions of what goes on in the bathroom may make most Americans uncomfortable, it certainly isn't so taboo as to point out a different toilet. Perhaps the Japanese culture is different, such that, while people may have wanted to ask why you have a fringe toilet, social norms kept them from doing so. I'm not Japanese, nor have I spent any time in Japan, so that's purely conjecture, but, knowing what little I…

You're right, Japan has a long and very interesting obsession with poop, primarily due to their geography.

Japan is a series of volcanic islands with, historically, a very limited indigenous supply of large poop producing creatures like like cows, horses, and pigs. The result is that there was a great scarcity of fertile soil. To supplement their soil they instead relied on human feces. So valuable was it that back in the day you could sell your poop to professional manure collectors who walked around town with large pots.

The cultural legacy extends well beyond toilets. You may have seen recent articles about people creating meat from poop, and poop powered motorcycles. It's no coincide that those are Japanese inventions. Funny how a thing like geography affects things.

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#297

Post by kleiba »

eob wrote: post #161
s_henry_paulson wrote: post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From what I read on the internet 25-40% of people out there seem to stand up to wipe.. and I have to believe that's largely due to people never discussing how they use the restroom.

No, they stand because that part of the world is used to squatting when they go to the bathroom. The "toilet as throne" model is from the west. Over there, historically, toilets are built into the floor. The toilet bowl is a rounded-rectangle depression in the floor rather than something that sticks out of it. You stand with one foot on either side of the bowl and squat while you do your business. I prefer Western to…

I've never personally used a Japanese toilet, so I'm genuinely interested: if you say your feet are to either side of the bowl, where do your lowered pants end up? Won't they be in the way?

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#298

Post by nandemo »

hcarvalhoalves wrote: post #182
AndyIngram wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

shattaf's (North American salad sprayer but for the restroom) work much better then the Japanese toilets, however I would only want to use one in my residence not a public/work restroom. They are common in Brazil and the Middle East, I think the heat makes being "unclean" a bigger issue.

Both shattafs and bidets (which is the whole separate ceramic apparatus, not just the spray) are common here in Brazil. I always though it was because of bigger French/Islamic influence.

Are bidets really that common in Brazil? I had one in my old home but I don't recall spotting them in new houses or apartments.

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#299

Post by nestlequ1k »

warfangle wrote: post #230
eob wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not a reasonable default because every visitor to your house would make a comment requiring you to justify having "fringe" bathroom habits. Edit: Not every, of course. And the number would vary by region of the US. Excuse the universal quantifier :)

I saw this somewhere else, but it stuck with me: "if you get poop on your arm, do you wipe it off with a dry piece of paper - or do you wash with soap and water?" I don't understand why bidets are fringe :(

If I got poop on my arm, I wouldn't use toilet water to wash it off.

This to me is the #1 reason I don't want bidets and would never use it. Pretty much the most repellent idea to me is the concept of the toilet spraying me back.

How's this for an idea... a sink next to the toilet where I can warm a piece of paper with water and use it. Nice, simple, and works well.

Or baby wipes. Those work really well too. Replicate this with an "adult version".

Toilet spray? No thanks. Ever

Re: Why aren't we all using Japanese toilets?

#300

Post by ricardobeat »

nestlequ1k wrote: post #299
warfangle wrote: post #230

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I saw this somewhere else, but it stuck with me: "if you get poop on your arm, do you wipe it off with a dry piece of paper - or do you wash with soap and water?" I don't understand why bidets are fringe :(

If I got poop on my arm, I wouldn't use toilet water to wash it off. This to me is the #1 reason I don't want bidets and would never use it. Pretty much the most repellent idea to me is the concept of the toilet spraying me back. How's this for an idea... a sink next to the toilet where I can warm a piece of paper with water and use it. Nice, simple, and works well. Or baby wipes. Those work really well too. Replicat…

The water comes from your water piping, not the toilet bowl.
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