As you may or may not know, there are two types of Japanese toilets. One type, the Western-style toilet, is very near and dear to my heart because I been using it since I was just a little lad. The other type of toilet, the Eastern style, is very different from what I’m used to (to say the least), and I can’t stand using it.

When referring the the foreign, or Western-style toilet, you can use the Japanese term yoshiki toire. Some of the Western-style toilets here in Japan are the most luxurious way to do your “business” that I have ever seen. But the Japanese-style toilet, or washiki toire, was definitely one of the Japanese culture shocks for me.