Japan Society of Fairfield County
Culture Watch, Society Watch (12)
by Dr. Ikuko Anjo Jassey
Unlike some American women, Japanese
women surely and carefully
wash vegetables and fruits before consuming them. As for me, I even
wash packaged veggies called "ready-to-serve" and packaged poultry. I
know it might be too much. But I do. So, when a salad that is prepared
with unwashed vegetables is served, I try my best to swallow it.
Also, in Japan I have never seen women who do not wash their hands
after using a bathroom. However, as far as I observe at public places
in this country, perhaps four out of ten do not clean their hands,
especially when nobody is around. (I do not hear the sound of running
water!) Thus, it seems that Japanese are truly
hygiene-conscious.
Also, Japanese people almost never go to
bed without bathing
unless they are sick. Why so? We love to be relaxed in the
warm water, soaking up to the chin after washing and rinsing our body,
and for us it is celestial to lay our refreshed body on the sun-dried
(not dried with a drying machine) and sun-sterilized "clean" sheets.
Not only people but also train windows, regardless of local commuter
trains or bullet trains, are almost always transparently clean, no dust
or no trace of rain drops. And yet, compared to twenty-years ago,
streets, train stations, or inside trains are not so clean as before
any more; we often see tobacco butts, trash, empty cans and bottles
scattered or left behind. What about public toilets? Public toilets at
railway stations have never been very clean unfortunately, especially
when they are Japanese style toilets, which is apparently difficult to
keep clean because of its style. Nonetheless, toilet facilities
observed in Japan are super in terms of its technology.
Within these ten years, my husband and I
stayed at what you call
"top-class" hotels, such as The Plaza Hotel and the New York Palace in
New York City, the Fairmont in Quebec and in Ottawa, or paradores in
Spain; however, we have not yet come across a "fancy" toilet as seen in
Japan. On the other hand, in my parents' house, which was built
thirty years ago in the countryside, a western style toilet with a
heated seat for winter use has been sitting in their bathroom for more
than a quarter of a century. (Regardless of where you live in Japan, in
urban or rural areas, almost all houses, old or new, do not have a
central heating system. Therefore, you can imagine how much a
heated seat would be appreciated in the freezing season.) Also, my
friend, who bought a condominium looking over the Yokohama Bay Bridge
and Mt. Fuji far away, has been using a toilet with a heated seat, a
noise canceling device, a cleansing stream of warm water, a bidet, an
air dryer, and a deodorizer, for twenty-five years. The toilet came
with the condominium. What you need to do is just to select and
press a button, based on your need. My sister's house in downtown Tokyo
is not an exception. If you want to experience these gadgets for fun,
go to a good restaurant or a good hotel in Japan. Surely, you will feel
very clean!
According to TOTO, a well-known toilet
company, sixty percent of
Japanese households, including restaurants and hotels have been
equipped with a toilet, more or less, with these features. So, as one
of the Japanese people who are interested in hygiene, I am now reading
a catalogue to find a best-fit toilet for my family. Let me read the
feature "Massage Washing" in the book: "The nozzle moves like cycling
motion automatically." Do we need water massages? Naaah. Now, would you
like me to read the next feature "Self-Cleaning System"? It says, "The
nozzles are cleaned automatically before and after each use."
Great! You don't have to be worried about the hygiene of those nozzles
themselves. If you have a chance, try and feel the new gadgets by
all means. Despite the fact that people at times make light of it,
cleanliness is after all a basis of a healthy and comfortable life.
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