Friday, August 07, 2009

Kim - Mother R?

Someone tell me what THIS is for in a LADIES restroom.....and I'll try to post the rest of the adventure soon (including my guesses). ::snort:: BTW, they couldn't fit the kids and I on the first tour. I'm hearing that a lot of general knowledge is shared on that tour. We are having a blast asking and finding answers....but we'll be taking that first tour in 2 weeks. It's mandatory for active duty and Mike took them a couple of weeks ago. They're fitting us in as they can.

Photobucket

BTW, while there are so many NEW things to capture for our family journal, I've set up a list of upcoming posts in the sidebar....it's my sticky list. LOL

Choosing Joy!
©2009 D.R.G.

~ Coram Deo ~
Living all of life before the face of God...

15 comments:

Renee said...

Madeleine says maybe it's a urinal for your young sons that come in with you???

Debbie said...

Hmmm, how about to wash off your feet? I am very much enjoying all this new info from Japan.

Nichole "Nikki" Warren said...

Isn't it a bidet?

Bidets are primarily used to wash and clean the genitalia, perineum, inner buttocks, and anus. They may also be used to clean any other part of the body; they are very convenient for cleaning the feet, for example.

Despite appearing similar to a toilet, it would be more accurate to compare it to the washbasin or bathtub. In fact, the bidet is used by some for a baby bath.

Users who are unfamiliar with bidets often confuse a bidet with a urinal, toilet, or even a drinking fountain.

Bidets are common bathroom fixtures in many southern European countries (especially Italy, Spain, Portugal, Croatia, Slovenia and Greece), some Latin American countries (especially Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay), some of Africa (especially Egypt and Morocco) and some parts of Asia (particularly in Japan, India and South Korea).

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidet

As soon as I saw it I thought of a bidet. I looked it up on wikipedia so I could give some factual information about it.

Anonymous said...

It is for when your younger sons come with you to the restroom. Convenient! I remember seeing these. Only Americans take pictures in bathrooms...and we did it frequently. Press on!

Renee said...

but look at what I found in Wikiepedia:

Male and female urinals

Modern Japanese urinalUrinals in Japan are very similar to the urinals in the rest of the world, and mainly used for public male toilets or male toilets with a large number of users. They often are, however, mounted lower compared to urinals in the west.

Before and during the Meiji Era, urinals were commonly used by both men and women. Traditionally, a kimono is worn without underwear, and the females merely pulled up their kimono, and with an upward pull on their vulva, were able to direct the urine forward into the urinal. This practice disappeared in the 20th century, after most women started wearing western-style clothing. Nowadays, even kimono are almost always worn with underwear. The female urinal had a small revival between 1951 and 1968, when TOTO was producing female urinals. This device was shaped like a cone and placed on the floor. However, those were never very popular, and only a few of them are left, including those underneath the Japan National Stadium from the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.[10]

Nichole "Nikki" Warren said...

LOL so perhaps it's a female urinal? LOL

Kim said...

Yep, it's a urinal for the younger boys that should go in with their Moms. Wait til you go to a public bath/hot springs and there are "little" boys 6-7-8 years old taking a bath with you. Just pretend it isn't happening, and you should be fine!

Kim said...

Never heard of a urinal for women here. Learn something new every day. You have, however, seen the squatty potty - often found at parks. Once you learn to balance, you will be happy not to have body parts TOUCHING the toilet! By balance, for westerners, this usually means gripping a handle, a wall, etc. Be careful of gripping pipes, as they have been known to come away from walls. Just in case!

Kim said...

Well, I know more about potties here than I thought. The bottom warmer ones with all the buttons do the work of a potty/bidet -washing those parts you choose with jets of water. I never use them, but...Just be sure to NEVER stand up in shock when the spray is spraying!!!!! You will shower yourself and the whole stall@

Daughter of Trust said...

so your blog was always interesting but now it is exotic as well...hhhhmmm. have fun.

Janette said...

No idea- unless you were in a hotel the public bathrooms in China were a hole in the floor- twenty years ago. It is not uncommon to hear about women standing on toilet seats- since they are used to squating (which is why I used to carry wipes and wipe the seat before I sat down).
Ah - the things we learn.

The Hibbard Family said...

I'd never heard of the female urinal either!! I was thinking bidet, too, because it looks much like what we had when I was growing up in Jordan.

DeEtta @ Courageous Joy said...

Hmmm....well....we saw the same urinals on the floor in the mens' bathroom yesterday at the park (another story) and so I'm guessing these are meant to be used for young sons.....though I thought they were for feet. ::snort::

Anonymous said...

Sis:

Reading Kim's comment on spraying yourself:

First time Dad/I visited the PI's the hotel had this thing hanging down into the toliet.... what? I soon found out when looking for something to flush the toliet with (I was no longer sitting) and found out the thing hanging down was for spraying before you got up etc. ..... i got it in the face. :):)

love/prayers --- Mom T

Linda said...

a female urinal is STILL better than the "bathroom" I had to use at a rest area in France...it looked like a low shower floor with a "drain" at the back. There were distinct textured areas for your feet (guess you don't want them to get wet), and you just went to the bathroom standing up (won't consider anything other than urine)... my daughter refused to go - I had to hold her in a squat...ugh.