What is a Japanese Toilet, and What is the Best Option?

2) Heated Seats

Most Japanese households do not have central heating, and rooms, including the restroom, can get cold during winter. To counter this, Japanese toilets have seats that warm up whenever it is cold. There are seats with controls to turn the heat up. Alternatively, some seats are programmed to detect the heating patterns and heat up automatically, depending on the heating history. Some Japanese toilet seats have sensors that detect the temperature and automatically turn up the heat.

3) The “Otohime” Sound Princess

Also known as the noise maker, the Sound Princess is a feature that emits white noise to counter any noise from the washroom. This gives the user privacy and ensures that anyone in the house is comfortable.

Other than white noise, the Sound Princess can mimic flushing water or play music from different genres, including classical music. You can control the Sound Princess by simply waving your hand over the sensor to trigger it.

4) Over-The-Toilet Sink

Image Source: attainablehome.com

Japanese toilets are all about sustainability; one way to achieve that is through over-the-toilet sinks. The purpose of the sink is to channel the water into the tank for use during flushing. This saves a ton of water as opposed to other toilets that do not have the feature.

5) Blow Drier

Since most Japanese toilets have bidets, blow driers are necessary for such bathrooms. With a simple touch of a button, the blow drier gets you dry without leaving the seat. The drier dries you up and eliminates the need for toilet paper, increasing sustainability.

To put this into perspective, Americans are responsible for nearly 20% of global tissue use. This makes the Japanese toilet a revolutionary option if most of the population owned one.

6) Massage Cleaning

A Japanese toilet’s water pressure can do much more than get you clean. A Japanese toilet can have a spray that directs water to a specific body region to give a soothing effect. The water can shoot at pulsating rhythms, vibrations, and other modes to have an effect similar to a massage.

7) Automatic Lid

One of the contentious points in every new relationship is whether the toilet lid was left open or down. Couples can outsource this service from the Japanese toilet, which closes and opens the lid automatically or on command.

Image Source: universal.edu.az

Some Japanese toilets have a feature that automatically shuts the toilet seat when you get up to leave. You can open and close the lid with a button for most Japanese toilets.

Remember, the issue of the seat staying open or closed is no trivial issue, as it can be the difference between getting urinary tract infections or not.

8) Adjustable Water Temperature

Japan and other countries have winter days when cold water is uncomfortable for most people. During such times, the Japanese toilet comes in handy by providing varied water temperatures, a feat traditional Western toilets can not achieve without additional features.

9) Turbo Wash

Turbo wash is a high-powered spray stronger than the normal bidet spray. Turbo wash is intended to push water into the rectum for cleaning and easing constipation.

10) Nozzle Sterilization

Bathroom hygiene is a big deal, especially for ladies who can contract urinary tract infections easily. Since a Japanese toilet seat is like a bidet emerging from beneath, one would imagine it is the worst place to have the bidet. However, the bidet sprayer nozzle retracts into a protected compartment safe from contamination. Unlike Western-style toilets, the bidet nozzle on Japanese toilets is self-sterilizing. Furthermore, the nozzle does not retract until the cleansing phase.

11) Remote Control

Image Source: woodbridgebath.com

The Japanese toilet comes with two forms of controls; the wall control panel and the remote control. The remote control acts as a great complement to the wall panel when one does not feel like getting up from the seat. Furthermore, with the remote, you do not have to walk into the toilet to make any adjustments, as you can do that remotely.

12) Vitals

Japanese toilets are not simply fancy toilets as they have features that work towards bettering general health. One such feature is the sensor that can take vitals such as blood pressure, pulse, and other physiological signs. Furthermore, the toilets can analyze urine and stool samples with technology embedded in the toilet bowl.

13) Talking Toilets

We are in an age where everything is almost possible with AI; one such thing is the talking toilet. There are toilets with responsive voice command features that are interactive and intuitive to the user. Other than serious toilet business, some toilets can tell jokes to keep users engaged during their time in the toilet. Other than jokes, there are other things like telling the weather forecast that the toilet can do.

14) Night Light

Image Source: mashable.com

The night light is handy on the Japanese toilet to make the control panel visible and the bathroom experience better. Lights are a huge part of interior design, and Japanese toilets use lights functionally and aesthetically.

15) Timer

The Japanese toilet seat has many vital features, like heated seats. Luckily most of these functions can be set to work at a given time with a timer that sets off the features. For instance, when you wake up in the morning and have to visit the toilet, you can find the seat already heated to save you the time you would take waiting for the toilet to heat up.

16) Air Deodorizer

The Japanese toilet has a deodorizer that expels all the smells after one uses the toilet. The Japanese toilet can suck out the odor using a bamboo charcoal filter or modern methods like fans to suck out the potentially smelly air.

17) Soapy Spray

The spray is a widely used feature in the Japanese toilet. For extra hygiene, some Japanese bidets have a soapy spray for better cleaning after calls.

18) Self-Washing

Japanese toilets have self-washing toilets always to keep the toilet clean. Having a clean toilet is one of the health precautions always to take. Furthermore, a clean toilet gives a good impression; nothing could be better than one that washes itself.

Benefits of a Japanese Toilet

Image Source: newatlas.com

• Medical benefits– Japanese toilets can measure the body vitals, including pulse, blood sugar, and temperature, and take samples for testing.
• Comfort– Heated seats and other features like heating water, smell extractors, noise suppressors, and music enhance comfort.
• Less toilet paper– The Japanese toilet gets rid of toilet paper. Furthermore, the bidet does a better job than any toilet paper, doing a cleaner job than toilet paper could ever achieve.
• Sleek design– The Japanese toilet is known for its minimalist design, a common trend in Japanese interior design. It is designed to make an interior space look welcoming and comfortable.
• Convenience– Japanese toilets can set timers, which is great for anyone busy. Japanese toilets are great for cold winter days by heating the seats for comfortable use. Self-cleaning and automated features add to the convenience.
• Environmentally friendly– The Japanese toilet has environmentally friendly features geared towards sustainability, such as the over-the-toilet sink that reuses water for flushing. Furthermore, the Japanese toilet eliminates toilet paper, which hurts forests as billions of rolls are produced to meet the demand.
• Automated– Japanese toilets can automatically be timed to heat up at specific times. Furthermore, the toilet can open and close automatically and even flush itself after use.
• Enhanced privacy– Japanese toilets use noise suppression, smell extraction, and smart bidet features. The toilet further uses music to drown out any noises.
• Increased property value– If you are letting or selling your property, the Japanese toilet might just help you close the deal.

Problems with the Japanese Toilet

Image Source: bidetsource.com

• Washlet syndrome– The bidet may eliminate the important germs needed for the body’s normal functioning and change the pH and moisture levels in the nether parts, leading to the Washlet syndrome.
• Cost– The Japanese toilet is costlier than the normal Western toilet because of its additional features.
• Electricity reliance– Japanese toilets heavily rely on electricity to function. This may be one of the only advantages of a traditional toilet over a Japanese toilet.
• Installation– Installing the Japanese toilet is not as easy as many other toilets due to the complex features like bidet attachments, electricity components, etc.
• Language barrier- Some Japanese toilets are labeled in Japanese, which may be challenging for non-Japanese users. However, to solve this problem, Japanese toilets have illustrations showing what each button does.
• Hygiene– While Japanese toilets are the most hygienic toilets you can come across, any tiny inconvenience or damage might lead to disastrous situations that can lead to infections, especially in public toilets.

Cleaning and Maintaining a Japanese Toilet

Japanese toilets are hygienic, and some are self-cleaning. However, this does not mean that no human intervention is required once every while.

Short-Term Japanese Toilet Maintenance (Daily)

• Wash the bidet nozzle and attachments. There are bidets with nozzle wash to make the work easier.
• Wipe seats with a soft and damp cloth to avoid getting water to the electronic parts of the toilets.
• If the dirt is stubborn, you can use a soft cloth dipped in a cleaning detergent as long as it is not dripping wet.

Mid-Term Toilet Maintenance

• remove the bidet attachments and toilet seat to wipe down with a damp cloth
• Clean the deodorizer with a soft toothbrush
• Check all the bidet functions and automation to see if they work.

Long-Term Japanese Toilet Maintenance

• Change the remote batteries
• Check for any leakages and damages
• Change bidet attachments where possible.

Frequently Asked Questions About Japanese Toilets

1) What is special about Japanese toilets?

A Japanese toilet is synonymous with a smart toilet and is a toilet that has intuitive features that enhances the user’s experience. The features available on the Japanese toilet but missing from traditional toilets include bidet attachments, noise suppressors, automatic flush, auto-shut, open lid, tankless design, heated seats, smart voice control, remote control, and motion sensors.

2) What is a Japanese toilet called?

A Japanese toilet has been called many names before, and one that stands out is the “washlet,” coined by Toto and stuck. The term washlet is used mainly because of the bidet attachments that often come with Japanese toilets.

3) What is the difference between Japanese and Western toilets?

Also called the “Kinkakushi,” the Japanese toilet has become more futuristic, while Western-style toilets have remained unchanged. The Japanese toilet has adopted rapid functional innovations, while the Western toilet has changed its efficiency and not necessarily added any functions.

4) Are Japanese toilets hygienic?

The Japanese toilet has many features that enhance hygiene, such as self-cleaning parts and retractable bidet parts that only come out during the cleansing stage. It can electrolyze water when sterilized to improve hygiene. Japanese toilets have filters that keep any tiny debris out when cleansing using the bidets. Also, they are hands-free in most of their functions.

Final Thoughts

Japanese toilets are the most revolutionary additions we can have in our bathrooms. The toilets not only bring good looks to the interior design but convenience, hygiene, privacy, and comfort. All the features that the Japanese toilet has are geared towards keeping up with other technological advances, including voice control, motion sensors, hands-free operation, and sample collection for diagnosis. A Japanese toilet is a must-have for your next bathroom remodel.