Courage

I want to post a lot of photos on this blog. After some careful thought I figured I'd initiate my picture presentations with a series of photos that symbolically captures a great deal about me in Japan. So, without further ado:

This is my Japanese toilet. Yes, those are special pink toilet slippers. They're squishy. I've wanted to use a Japanese toilet since I learned in my Japanese 101 class that they heat, massage, sing and offer bioanalysis. This is the toilet in action:

As you can see there is a faucet that pours water into the tank when you flush. I haven't tried it but I suppose you could wash your hands right there. And yes those are instructions on the lid. Want a closer look?

The toilet's name is Toto. I had no idea toilets could be this complex! Have I been doing things wrong all of these years? I can only read one thing, the two big kanji right after the second caution symbol. It says: caution, Chui (pronounced Chewie, like the wookie). Maybe I should find out what's so dangerous. But that's not the scariest part of this toilet. It's the toilet's control panel:

The two buttons on the top are easy enough. Big flush, little flush. The big red one means stop, but I'm not sure what it's referring to. My roommate explained that I should avoid pushing the button with the girl as it would make me very uncomfortable. But the picture of the butt - that's the one that this whole post is about.

I've never used a baday before. And I'm excited to use it. Once I confirmed what I could expect when I pressed the button I promised myself that I would use it the next chance I got. Then I backed down. We got back late last night and I was tired. I was afraid that pushing that big butt button would wake me up and I just wasn't in the adventurous mood. So I didn't. I am ashamed. After all, isn't this why I came to Japan? To use their toilets and feel things I've never felt before? So this is me renewing my commitment to experience the new and uncomfortable - the way life should be for the next few months. The next time the opportunity presents itself I will push that button.