Should you flush a Japanese toilet with your foot or your hand?

Toto gives us a guide on proper bathroom etiquette in Japan.

When you think of Japanese toilets, chances are the nation’s advanced Toto washlets may come to mind. However, there are plenty of traditional squat-style toilets around the country too, and they can be slightly more puzzling to use.

The first thing you need to know is that you should face the wall when squatting over the bowl. However, what happens once you’ve done your business and need to flush? That’s become a bit of a head-scratcher in Japan recently, when a news report revealed that locals aren’t sure if they should use their hand or foot to operate the flush.

▼ The flush is the silver lever that juts out horizontally to the floor from the metal piping. In the image below, it’s on the right.

When locals on the street were asked about it, the results were pretty evenly divided, with 28 out of 52 people saying they used their hand to push the flush, and 24 saying they used their foot. Those who used their hand said they thought that was the proper way to do things, given that it’s within hand’s reach when squatting, while those who used their foot thought it was natural to step on it after standing up. Those in the foot camp also expressed an aversion to touching the lever as it’s close to the ground and can sometimes seem dirty, especially when under the assumption that others may have also used their foot to flush previously.

So…what’s the correct way to flush?

Well, according to a representative from leading toilet manufacturer Toto, the correct way to flush a squat toilet is with your hand.

This style of toilet is said to be designed for hand-operated flushing because pressing or pulling the lever too hard can cause water to leak from the flush valve. It could also cause the plating on the surface to peel off, which could then cause injury to future users who touch the lever.

In light of this revelation, you might wonder if a foot-operated button might be a better option, but Toto says all Japanese-style toilets are lever-operated because anything else would be difficult to install and would likely affect subsequent maintenance.

So, if we’re all meant to be pushing the lever with our hand, does that mean we’re now obliged to touch something that could possibly be dirty?

Well, not necessarily. One hand-pushing respondent pointed out that your skin doesn’t have to come in contact with the metal if you use a piece of toilet paper to push the lever and then throw the paper away in the ensuing flush. The Toto representative echoed this sentiment, saying it was a good way to keep your hand clean while operating the toilet in the way it was designed to be used.

So next time you find yourself face-to-face with a traditional squat-style toilet in Japan, remember to use your hand, not your foot, to operate the flush. And sometimes, if you’re lucky, it just might make your dreams come true.

Sources: BSS via Yahoo! News via Jin 
Featured image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Pakutaso (1, 2, 3)
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