Where to Find Toilets / Restrooms in Japan 🚽 How to use Japanese Toilets / Washlets
Complete guide to Japanese toilets 101! Including where to find restrooms when you’re out and about, how washlets work, squat toilets and what to expect in bathrooms in Japan.
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When you’re out and about all day, finding bathrooms can be a concern! The good news is it’s never a problem in Japan. It’s easy to find restrooms in train stations, department stores, larger shops, arcades and tourist attractions, as well as public toilets in parks, etc. In hotels and public toilets, it’ll usually be a Japanese washlet with bidet functions, a heated seat, automatic lid and maybe even sound effects! In the video I show you what you buttons are like and how to use “robot toilets”! Sometimes you’ll come across squat toilets, but they are fairly rare, especially in Tokyo.
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00:00 Intro
00:40 Where to find toilets in Japan
02:17 Japanese phrases
02:26 Japanese washlets
03:36 Bathroom facilities
06:09 Squat toilets
06:35 Fancy toilets
#japan #japantravel #japantravelguide #tokyo
40 Comments
Now this is some handy information. Thank you for this!
Thanks Amy. This was bothering me 😊
Seerasan's channel has a great video on Japanese toilets to, ok nevermind i see you mentioned The Tokyo Toilet Project which is what i was talking about.
They have toilet everywhere but garbage bin are rare, bring one or two plastic bag and bring back your trash to tour hotel to dispose of it
Cheers 🍻 for sharing this information about bathrooms 🚻 there in Japan 🇯🇵 Amy!
If you’re a bit concerned about catching some sort of stomach-related nasty, it’s been found that sanitiser gel isn’t effective for some of them, and health professionals recommend soap. If you prefer to use soap, you can get soap ‘leaves’ which come in small packs or tins that you can just slip into your bag along with your tenugui. Not sure if that helps if you find yourself in a loo with no hot water in the taps, mind! It really is bizarre to use such a space-age convenience, only to find that the handwashing facilities seem remarkably antediluvian in comparison. I recall exiting such places vigorously shaking water off my hands as best I could as I had neither soap nor tenugui at the time.
One thing I found was that the control panel for the washlet might not always be where you expect. I used a public loo where it was on the wall opposite, next to the door, and looked like it controlled the heating or something. That was, admittedly, a self-contained room with a single toilet and washbasin rather than a full on public convenience with cubicles.
Totally agree about the comedown once you leave Japan, though. We stopped off in Hong Kong on the way back to the UK – and I think I was standing in the en-suite of my hotel room for about twenty seconds until I remembered that the seat wouldn’t lift itself up.
Definitely would have been useful a couple of years ago when I was there. That’s a story I’d rather forget
the most toilet-friendly nation in the world. if you have toilet anxiety and you hate places like nyc because of it, japan will calm you the hell down.
As someone with a bowel condition, I thought finding a toilet would be more difficult than it was! very easy to find and the washlets are a godsend! Wish the UK would take note! JAL planes have washlets as well, though didn't use them on the way there or back, the joys of being sat at the back of the plane! 😅
YASSSSS! Been waiting for this thanks 😊❤
There's also I sawed the movie 🎥 "Perfect World" shows in Downtown Tokyo's streets in "Washroom with Shaded Glass". You just step in, close the door, lock and find the activation button that turned into silver or gold color in keeping privacy 🔏.
You can find videos around YouTube that highlight the Tokyo Toilet Project. Seems odd to suggest a public restroom would be beautiful or fascinating, but the designs really are amazing. They all have their own unique style because they are designed by different artists and architects. Best part is, they really focus on safety. No dark corners for lurkers to hide in. All of them are thoroughly lit up day and night. Most of them have private toilet rooms rather than large banks of toilet stalls, so it's total privacy. There was at least one that had a toilet room for children where everything was smaller scale. And all of them have at least one stall that is fully accessible for those with mobility needs.
Amy. https://youtube.com/shorts/iFfwn71eVoU?si=u6-8w0g5C0ZjIFmJ A reminder on "¥10,000 unagi freshwater eel bbq" is 'Hitsumabushi' in Nagoya. This is not a joke!
Me: "TOIRE WA DOKO DESU KA"
…ehn??
"Bathroom?"
Oh hai right this way
Came across a squat toilet near Golden Gai, imagined the original Toto San thinking how there must be a better way and dedicating their life’s work to making the GOAT of toilets, happy they did and its crazy how ubiquitous they are that even JAL planes have the washlet function.
It’s always confusing the first couple days arriving back in the UK too like “why is the seat not opening for me, why isn’t it warmed and where’s my jet of warm water!”
Spot on. Thanks!
If I ever go to Japan, I pray I NEVER have to use the squat toilets scared 😖
As a woman who needs toilets very often, Japan is an absolute paradise !!!!! There are toilets almost every where, they are free to use, and they are clean. In so far 3 trips to Japan (each of them for 4 weeks), I remember only one single public toilet which wasnt very clean (but it was still much better than in many other countries).
Not ashamed to say it, but I ranted on about how amazing the toilets were in Japan, I still bring it up anytime that I'm out and see how abysmal the facilities are here.
Do all restaurants have toilets? If you go to tiny restaurants or tiny bars like you see in footage from Golden Gai do they have toilets?
Yes, this can be harder than you think! Oh how I miss the heated seat and Bside studio! Another great video, thank you.
You talked about all train stations having bathrooms YES they do BUT should have told your audience the Bathrooms are inside the gates…………..you have to pass them before you get to BR therefore you need to pay fare
On my brief trip to Japan 6 years ago I’d just say ‘toilet?’ And they knew exactly what I meant. A bit Neanderthal but it worked.
Japan is a toilet paradise! Rarely hard to find, usually clean, and generally with an abundance of paper!
The one thing I don't get from the washlets though, only rarely do you encounter one with a dryer. So you still need paper for that. And there comes the other problem: The paper is so thin that it basically dissolves when it even comes close to water. It's pretty much useless….
Starbucks and fast food joints
I had an interesting surprise when I was in Kobe when one of the cleaning ladies just casually strolled into the mens toilet and started mopping around the men using the urinals 😂
I have been to Japan like about 4-5x and I have yet to see a dirty toilet. The Japanese people are so disciplined – they make sure the toilets are clean for the next user. During my last trip to Fukuoka, I accidentally sprayed urine on the toilet floor. Without thinking, I took some toilet paper to clean up. I guess I was "influenced" by a part of the Japanese culture to be considerate to others. I am from Singapore.
Thanks for this. Very very informative as always
There's a reason why Kentarou (Goldenboy) loves japanese toilets.
Finding public toilets in Tokyo are far easier to find and cleaner than in my country. If you're walking in the suburbs just find the nearest park which most will have a clean public toilet. Convenience stores in the suburbs also allow their toilets for customer use.
Don't be surprised if a little lady comes into the male toilets. She is there to clean up an already clean facility.
There's a simple trick I use when travelling. ASK – Where do the employees go for toilet? Convenience store, supermarket, employees work long hours and stand all the time. So it is a necessity. UNLIKE European and US which is functioning on clients ONLY elitism system.
Pick up a drink in the convenience store so you can go to the toilet again
Long-term (37 years) Japan resident here. This is accurate and useful information. Well Done.
I had the best time doing my business(es) in Tokyo public toilets 😂 They are always in excellent condition, even in random buildings. They are also great for a short rest if you're tired from walking too much or from the sensory overload with all the crowds. Just make sure there's not a queue behind or people will be grumpy waiting for you to be done 😅
Thank you so much for the info 😃
found a squat toilet in one of the subway stations so I took a picture to go with my pic of an Italian squat toilet. I love the washlets!
How often do you visit Japan a year. Do you go through withdrawals when you leave? Just spent a week in Tokyo and It blew me away.
McD's is good. They're often large, sometimes multifloor and also sort of cheap hangout/study spot for students like a starbucks might be so it's not super obvious if you're just going in for the bathroom unlike most other food places. There are usually several in each major district and still often 1 by station in less major districts.
Even if you don't actually buy something that particularly time it's probably a place many people will eat at several hundred times in a lifetime.
But I often find myself just buying a small shake and something small on literally most days while I'm in Japan. I don't even really go there when not in Japan. It's just such a convenient refresh stop.
Thank you!! I have ulcerative colitis, so information on toilets while traveling is so so helpful! I really appreciate it.
I highly recommend the movie "Perfect Days" directed by Wim Wenders, about Japanese Toilets. It was one of the best movies I've seen in this century.
TOTO museum has just gone on the list of must visit places.