Picture the scene: you’re waiting for your number to be called at City Hall or some other municipal building in rural Japan, when suddenly your stomach starts growling and your gut begins to twitch and spasm as that super-greasy kimchi ramen you had for lunch is pushed at top speed through your digestive tract. If you don’t go now – right now – things could get messy fast, so you make a beeline for the restroom and hope that there’s a stall free. Inside the restroom, you charge towards the half-open door on the end, a layer of sweat forming on your brow as your body starts counting down, T-minus 10 seconds to total evacuation.
Then it hits you: the stall you’re standing in is fitted not with a luxurious, bidet-equipped, warms your backside and plays music at you Washlet brand of toilet, but an old-school, upside-down urinal built into the floor Japanese squat toilet.
There’s no backing out now. The deed must be done. The question is, how traumatised will you be after using it?
Some people love Japan’s squat toilets. Science has been telling us for years that sitting down to poop is immensely bad for us, putting unnecessary strain on our bodies as well as, it has been argued, significantly increasing our chances of developing everything from hemorrhoids to colorectal cancer.
On the other hand, squatting over what is essentially a porcelain trough in the floor is hardly the most relaxing experience, and for the untrained it can be rather intimidating since people can, and on the rarest of occasions do, slip into them, and squat toilets require a lot more precision on the part of the, er, “load-bearer” than Western-style models.
It’s a debate that has divided us for years, but today we’re going to sort it out once and for all. So answer us this, Rocketeers, are you pro or anti squat toilet?
Make your click count!
Last week, we asked you to settle an argument that has raged in Japan for decades: Tokyo or Osaka? Let’s take a look at the results, shall we?
Super Mega Important Debate: Tokyo or Osaka? 【Poll Closed】
Super Mega Important Debate: Do you shower before work or before bed? 【Poll closed】
Super Mega Important Debate: Fried gyoza or boiled gyoza? 【Poll Closed】
Super Mega Important Debate – Natto: is it nom or vom? 【Poll closed】
Super Mega Important Debate – Japanese TV: is it just plain awful? 【Poll】
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Japan launches first overnight Shinkansen bullet train between Tokyo and Osaka this summer
TKG Debate: What’s the best way to eat Japan’s beloved raw egg comfort dish?
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Starbucks Japan creates special drink bottle bags, adorable stickers for all 47 prefectures[Pics]
Japan announces sudden 400-percent increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country
Starbucks Japan reopens Shinkansen platform store after redesigning it for speed
Japanese sweets brand creates new drinkable Cigare and we’re totally here for it
Japanese ninja certification exam attracts 131 candidates from Japan and abroad
Studio Ghibli store Donguri Republic announces opening of first-ever store in America
Japanese sweets shop sells an ohagi so exquisite it sells out by noon
7-Eleven Japan to start selling Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches this summer
Starbucks Japan releases new Frappuccino, tea and soda drinks for summer
“Phantom Egg Shop” opens in Japan, with a dozen rare Japanese varieties
New Japanese overnight train coming to connect Tokyo with Tohoku in sleep-travel style
Uniqlo reveals third round of massive 100-year-anniversary manga T-shirts for Jump’s Shueisha
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New official Ghibli anime food cookbook will teach you how to make Ponyo’s ramen and more
Forget Tokyo go-karts – there’s a new way to sightsee on four wheels in Japan
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
Super Mega Important Debate: Capsule hotels – crazy cool or just too coffin-like? 【Poll】
Super Mega Important Debate: Soy sauce-based ramen or miso-based ramen? 【Poll closed】
Poll reveals what we already know: Japanese toilets make no sense, confuse us all
Super Mega Important Debate: Are Japan’s futons awesome or simply awful? 【Poll closed】
Japanese squat toilet plastic model kit: Weird, gross, or both?【Photos】
Squat toilets’ popularity fading as parents call for them to be abolished in Japanese schools
Super Mega Important Debate: Tuna or salmon sushi? 【Poll now closed】
Japan has established itself as King of the Thrones【Video】
Flush your prayers down the toilet at this unique Japanese temple
Should you flush a Japanese toilet with your foot or your hand?
What do toilets the world over look like? Check out this video to find out 【Video】
Japanese defecation survey says kids struggle with Japanese toilets, contributing to constipation
12 toilet oddities around the world that surprise Japan
Japanese arcade restroom asks customers to declare loyalty for dogs or cats in toilet paper poll
Increasing number of Japanese people unable to squat like a yankee
Japanese toilet sweets put a new twist on tradition
Kyoto village dealing with poo on floor as Japanese-style toilets confuse foreign travelers