Message-ID: <199703151343.WAA29876@inetnif.niftyserve.or.jp> Date: Sat, 15 Mar 1997 22:40:00 +0900 From: Martin Sieg <mailto:QWA01214@NIFTYSERVE.OR.JP> Subject: Re: toilet To: mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU
David Johnson <mailto:pinefarm@UNIONTEL.NET> and DEVEL-L friends,I too was very interested and hgappy to see the toilet designs here in Jap an.
At present you can find dual-flush toilets almost everywhere in Japan, and the new design is slightly different:
Instead of simply having four inches (10cm) of water go down with the small flush many toilets now only release water as long as the user holds the handl e. It is not likely that people want to stay in the toilet room for longer tha n necessary, so only the minimum amount of water is used each time. Things stay clean because most Japanese people flush.
At for the tank-top basin, I have only seen soap provided in one small resta urant. In most places in Tokyo people do not use this basin, and instead actua lly do use a separate sink. However, the newer restaurants, buildingsm train s tations, highway rest-stops, etcetera all have one of two types of sink faucet . The first is a spring loaded manual tap that stays on for a short duration. The second uses a photocell that turns on the water when you put your habds u nder it. The latter is best, but likely not practical for developing countries due to cost and need for electricity.
The manual short-duration faucet is also used in most public bath houses an d hot-springs. These places are also great: first you wash yourself with soap and a hand-held shower-head, ideally using only enough water to first get wet, then to rinse off (unfortunately most Japanese use far more water than necess ary in this process). Once you are clean you then get into the public bath - g enders usually divided - and sit in very hot water as long as you like, then y ou return to the wash area and soap-up again before you leave.
Martin Sieg