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In previous articles, linked below, we looked at how bathing and toilet rooms in Japanese houses and apartments/condos are used and arranged.  In short, the soaking bath (furo/風呂) + hand/face-washing sink are installed in one room, while the toilet is located in a separate space.  Keeping the toilet in its own little room makes sense from a cleanliness standpoint, and the Japanese also designed an ingenious system to for rinsing off your hands after using the toilet -- which is still installed in most dwellings.  The way it works is that after you flush the toilet, the clean/fresh water to fill the porcelain flush tank, is routed through a faucet-like pipe which pours down into a hole in the recessed lid of the flush tank.  In other words, instead of the clean water refilling the flush tank from the inside, it flows through a pipe, which comes straight-up from the back of the toilet and then curves down, pointed towards the flush tank lid.  So, after a flush, the refill water pours down into the hole of the concave-shaped flush tank lid -- and you use this pouring water to rinse off your hands.  This type of toilet installation will usually have a hook or ring on the wall where you can hang a hand towel.  Another (slightly larger) toilet room design, which is built-in to many newer homes, will have a modern, state-of-the-art toilet (heated seat, bidet/washlet system, exhaust fan, etc.) installed, along with a small hand-washing sink mounted into the wall near the door.  Hand soap can be used with the small sink, so it allows for even better hygiene.  Many of the rental houses our company manages have this type of toilet + sink room.  Also, more of our multi-story houses have toilet rooms on both the first and second floors -- so you are not required to use the stairs.  Finally, if you have a bidet/washlet-equipped toilet, be sure to ask us about how to use functions on its remote-control panel.  We hope you will enjoy and be comfortable with these unique features of your Japanese home.

Written by Goodfield

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Links:

-- Separate Toilet Room

https://us.iino.cc/blog/blog.html?eid=00044

-- O-Furo (Japanese bath)

https://us.iino.cc/blog/blog.html?eid=00040