international toilets.

We've all read the book "everyone poops," but what we haven't talked about yet is WHERE everybody poops.  From my expereinces abroad, almost every culture has a different way of taking care of business.  The most memorable experience, however, took place in the Tokyo airport with my mom and sister...

The three of us arrived in Tokyo and just like any other group of girls, the first thing we did when we landed was go to the bathroom.  My mom and my sister went into the family bathroom together, while I went into the regular bathroom alone.  The only open stall was the very last one, so not knowing any better I ventured back there and let myself in only to find this....

I took one look at this "asian squat toilet" and immediately started laughing, there was no way I was going to use that.  So i waited for a different stall to open up, and little did I know that I was about to sit on the greatest toilet ever invented.  At first glace it didn't look any different from the ones we use in the states, but when I sat down the first thing I noticed was that the seats were heated.  As I'm going pee, I look down and I see all these buttons that look like this...

Being the curious, young woman that I am, I started pushing all the buttons... And ladies... This is where the good part of this story begins... The coolest bidet ever!  Not only can you change the angle that the water sprays you at, but you can also change the water pressure!  AND the best part is... It doesn't stop until you press the stop button.  And when you're all done and cleaned off, there's an air dryer. 

Captivated by my new best friend, I left the bathroom feeling clean as ever and really anxious to see what my mom and sister thought.  Both of them were already done and waiting for me by this time.  "Did you guys push all the buttons on the toilet," I asked them.  Of course, neither of them had even considered trying it out, so I made them go back to the family bathroom with me so that they, too, could experience what I just discovered. 

Steph was the first one to try it, and she handled it like a champ; both angles, all the different pressures, and the dryer.  THEN my mom sat down... The second the water hit her she went flying off the toilet and screamed like a little girl.  Remember when I told you that the water doesn't stop until you push the STOP button?  Well... My sister just happened to be standing right in the line of fire and got completely drenched in toilet water!!!  We all left the bathroom histerically laughing... What a way to be welcomed to the Asian continent!

Well... There are bidets here too! Every household has one as well as many restaurants.  Here is mine...

She might not be quite as fancy as the ones in the tokyo airport, but she still leaves me feeling fresher than ever!