Bathroom Efficiency

It’s always the little things that make something really great, and for Japan that’s efficiency in every aspect of daily life. Something I’ve noticed here which is vastly different from the us is that the japanese pay attention to details, and optimize different aspects of life. The main one I notice is the bathrooms at school.

Yep, I’m writing about the bathroom. One of the most important rooms in our daily lives, yet the ones in America tend to suck. Here, there are ledges in the stalls, which are great for setting down things in your pocket so they don’t fall elsewhere. The little shelf covering the toilet paper is especially useful for putting your phone down. In America, the toilet paper thing is often that giant round roll that’s housed in a similarly shaped container. I can’t count how many times people’s phones have suffered a fall from that thing. Additionally, women here like to fix their hair A LOT, so mirrors are necessary. But putting the mirror in a place separate from the sink is the smartest thing ever. I get mad thinking about how many times I need to wash my hands but need to squeeze past all the ladies checking their hair in front of the sink, and by moving the mirror elsewhere, people who need to wash their hands have their own space, as do people who need to use the mirror.

Of course not every bathroom is like this, but the fact that many like this exist shows how people make public spaces more convenient.