Value Village ／ Before you come to Japan
This answer is a draft. It stays unpublished until legal review and source verification are complete.
The heated seat with a control panel is the first piece of Japan most visitors touch. It is also the source of a specific set of mistakes — the wrong button, the flush that is not where you expect, the slippers — that are easy to avoid once the panel is decoded.
| Symbol / word | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| stop (止) | Stop — the button to find first | Usually orange or red |
| oshiri (おしり) | Rear wash | Adjustable position and pressure |
| bide (ビデ) | Front wash | — |
| yawaraka (やわらか) | Soft rear wash | — |
| kansō (乾燥) | Warm-air dry | Not on all models |
| suisei / ichi (水勢 / 位置) | Pressure / nozzle position | −/+ arrows |
| nagasu dai / shō (流す 大 / 小) | Flush full / half | May be a wall panel, a lever on the tank, a sensor, or automatic on standing up |
| otohime / gion (音姫 / 擬音) | Flushing sound to mask noise | Does not flush |
| benza (便座) | Seat heater on/off | — |
[Verify] Household penetration with the Cabinet Office's Consumer Confidence Survey (durable goods); button labels vary by manufacturer.
Nothing sprays until you press a wash button while seated (a seat sensor prevents spraying an empty bowl). Find the stop button (止) first, then experiment.
Often it is a lever on the tank, a button on the wall behind you, or a sensor. If you cannot find it, look for "flush" (流す) or wave a hand at a sensor plate; some flush automatically when you stand.
The Otohime button plays a flushing sound for privacy. Pressing it repeatedly flushes nothing; look for "flush" (流す).
In a home or ryokan, toilet slippers are mandatory inside and forbidden outside the toilet room. Leaving them on into the corridor is noticed by everyone.
They remain in older stations, parks and schools; hold the handrail, face the hood, and note that many now have a Western stall next door marked "Western" (洋式).
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https://www.esri.cao.go.jp/jp/stat/shouhi/shouhi.html
https://www.sanitary-net.com/
https://www.japan.travel/en/plan/
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.
This is general information. Results vary from person to person and depend on your own conditions and surroundings.
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