I had not planned to touch on one of my favorite subjects in Japan--my fascination with all things porcelain--thinking it something of a niche interest.  But yesterday when I spotted a westerner snapping photos inside one of the nine (nine!  I love this place!) restrooms along the 5k circuit of the palace, it occurred to me I might yet have an audience as regards Japanese toilets.

For one thing they are bountiful, a state of affairs for which I am daily grateful. Matthew claims to know for a fact that there are gerbils who possess larger bladders than mine, and I won't argue with him.  Besides there being more facilities than even I can make use of, many have features that exhibit substantial attention to practicality, comfort, and cleanliness on the part of the designers. 

My favorite?  Heated seats.  When we were here in November there were times I went in search of a bathroom just to warm up.  Our apartment toilet has a seat that is heated just enough to not be startling first thing in the morning--we initially had a discussion on whether or not it actually was heated. 

And then there is the built in fan, which oddly enough is motion activated so that I need only to be in the same room and the thing begins its optimistic whirring. 

The waterworks are manually operated (except in the case of the posher establishments, where a simulated waterfall sound begins as you enter the stall, ostensibly so that no one can deduce the nature of your activities) requiring the presence of control panels that would be at home on the Star Ship Enterprise.  With cute little graphics to indicate the various ways you can give your fanny a spa treatment.