The Japanese hi-tech experience

This is a blog about the everyday technology that we experienced in Japan. You may be asking yourselves why I've posted a photo of toilet then. Well, that is because this is a picture of no ordinary toilet but a hi-tech Japanese toilet. Yes, this baby is a called a "Western" toilet in Japan but unlike the ones over here, it comes with many trimmings. These include a pre-warmed seat, a bidet, a dryer and a noise-canceller (this makes noises like birds singing to drown out the noise of your "business"). These toilets are pretty much everywhere - you can see them in bars, restaurants, department stores and also in people's homes. The toilet experience was a firm favourite of Eric's, who could spend hours happily pressing buttons.

Transport in Japan is very hi-tech. The trains like the Shinkansen or "Bullet" trains not only look super-cool but are some of the fastest in the world, going up to speeds of nearly 190 miles per hour. Even the ordinary metro trains in the city are incredibly efficient. They precision park at the platform so that people can queue beforehand in orderly lines (which they do in Japan). They are known for their punctuality. I've heard that if you want to prove you were late for work because of the train, that you have to get a note from the train station saying the train was late, or else your workplace won't believe you. Eric liked how the Tokyo metro had a screen in each carriage that showed you position of the stairs, escalators and exits of the platform of station you are arriving at. I suppose this kind of efficiency is pretty necessary when you are dealing with the massive numbers of people as you are in Japan. Shinjuku station in Tokyo has 3.6 million people going in and out of it every day!!!

We were impressed with the hi-techness (is this a real word?) of everyday people's homes, like in our friends' Hitoshi and Kanako's home in Osaka. As well as the hi-tech toilets, they had a computerised bath which they could set in the kitchen. Basically they pushed a button when they wanted a bath. The bath would then fill itself to whatever temperature you set it to. To give you a bit of time to get ready, the computer would announce in the kitchen "Your bath will be ready in 5 minutes". Then five minutes later - "Your bath is now ready"!!! No toggling with the hot and cold taps. Just one press of a button and hey presto, you have a perfect bath.

Lastly, I was particularly impressed by their kitchen shelves which were designed for a vertically-challenged person like myself. Our friends thought this was pretty funny that we liked their shelves so much, but see for yourselves in above video and watch in awe!