One of the things I enjoyed about Japan is the way they embrace technology (beyond North America and Europe), while holding on to old traditions and habits.
Toilets are an example. Although one still finds the traditional porcelain oval on the floor, this is the high-tech model we found in our hotel bathroom: http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=18069314 Here is a close-up of the control panel: http://photo.net/photodb/photo?photo_id=18069315 Both images were taken with the K-5 II S and DA 18-135 xoom. Bento, or more politely obento, is the more traditional term for a toilet. Literally, it means "convenient place." More modern usage is tearai or otearai, meaning "hand washing place." Also in common usage today is toire, the Japanese pronunciation of "toilet," which is often used were Westerners are expected. In the airports and train stations, one is offered a variety of toilet choices. In a Narita men's room, there were urinals plus 6 stalls: three were high-tech toilets virtually identical to the one in our hotel room; one was the same, but also featured a car seat type of provision for holding a child while one used the toilet; the fifth was a typical American-style toilet, without the bells and whistles; the sixth was a traditional squat-on-the-floor porcelaian oval, for those who cling to the old ways. The Japanese people and culture fascinated me this year as much as when I last visited there, in 1967. Dan Matyola http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/danieljmatyola -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List PDML@pdml.net http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
