As many of you may know, I'm relocating my family back to Los Angeles. I'll still be coming back to Japan to teach and play but I will move my home base to the South Bay. I've been living in Japan for 15 years and the Japanese way of thinking and life style has become a part of me and I've decided to post a few memoirs of my life in Japan here on this blog.I came over from Los Angeles in 1990. I had been to Japan before and have always liked the country, its modern conveniences and love for gadgets contrasting with its Buddhist and Shinto roots. The first thing I recall is the urinals at Narita Airport in Tokyo and the way they automatically flush, once while you are doing your business to prevent any embarrassment and once again when you are done with your business. The Japanese can't imagine actually touching the little lever that flushes the urinal and try to keep things as "touchless" as possible. Not too keen on germs. I've almost never seen a urinal in Japan that doesn't flush itself. Matter of fact, a lot of the toilets are automatic too and are wired to keep your butt warmed. You can control the temperature with a little lever. There is also a button that sends a stream of warm water to clean your nether eye. Go figure... an automatic bidet. American toilets leave a lot to be desired compared to their Japanese cousins. The public toilet stalls are also much better in Japan than in the States. The little room with your heated toilet and automatic bidet has walls that go from the floor to the ceiling so you can escape from reality and don't have to worry about anybody peaking up under the door like in an American stall. In America if you made the stalls like that you would have people living in there or at least having sex. In you home the toilet is in a separate room from your bath tub. Again the Japanese could not imagine something dirty like a toilet could get put in the same room as a bathtub where you want to get yourself clean. I'm going to miss going to the bathroom.
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