Fascination With Toilets

In reading “Japan Is Flush With Obsession” (Dec. 13), I thought you would give at least some passing mention to what American GIs called the “porcelain slit trench,” the oblong porcelain device built into the floor over which one squats. It is widely used in Asia and is used on Japan’s ultramodern bullet trains. For Westerners, at least, it is difficult to use. The difficulty in using it could be the reason the Japanese toilet manufacturers, perhaps to make amends, are inventing such gadget-laden toilets.

Toto Ltd., by the way, has made the toilet tank cover into a hand wash basin using the fresh water that then flows into the tank. The water works double duty and it saves space in space-tight Japan.

MIKE HATCHIMONJI

La Palma

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I referred your story on the Japanese fascination with toilets to my business partner, Junko Miura, in Kyoto and received the following reply. She provides a slightly different angle on the article.

“When you visit here next time, you should try the restrooms in a pachinco parlor. That’s the place where you can find the most gorgeous sets of toilets. ‘Auto flushing’ occurs when you enter the ‘room,’ sit on the ‘throne’ (or interrupt the infrared-beam sensor) and when you open the door again. Of course the ‘Sound Princess’ is ‘sensored’ too. You don’t have to touch anything; the only trouble you may get is that you can’t flush manually when you really want to flush. Excuse me!

“The wash basin is another thing. It has sensored faucets, as well as sensored soap and dryer. All in one place. One small drawback is that you get the dryer when you want soap, and your hands get soaked again whenever you want to dry them. Of course, Japan is such a kingdom of good service, the sensors are always well-maintained and working right, but it’s just a little bit hard to get the right angle to trigger the sensor. It takes experiments. It’s common in the ladies’ room that we share information on how to get the water to wash our hands. In this way, Toto and Inax are contributing to people’s communication.”

JIM KNIGHTON

La Crescenta