Unusual and interesting toilets from all around the world.

Japanese Train Toilets

Shinkansen Toilets

We're on board the Shinkansen, the famous high-speed "bullet trains". This is on a run from Osaka to Tokyo. That line, the Tōkaidō Shinkansen, is the world's busiest high-speed rail line. It carries over 150 million passengers per year with up to thirteen trains per hour in each direction. Each train has sixteen cars, seating 1,323 passengers.

Japan established high-speed service in 1964. Now they have over 2,700 kilometers of lines with maximum speeds of 240 to 320 km/hour. The toilets on board are similar to airline toilets. That seems appropriate, given the speed of travel.

Toilet on board the Tōkaidō Shinkansen bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo.
Instructional sign for the toilet on board the Tōkaidō Shinkansen bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo.
Flush and attendant call buttons for the toilet on board the Tōkaidō Shinkansen bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo.
Bidet and spray buttons for the toilet on board the Tōkaidō Shinkansen bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo.

The controls are simple, nothing like the complexity of nice home raised commode seats with their multi-function control panels. And, they are also labeled in English, to help the large number of foreign visitors riding the Shinkansen.

It has two large and prominent buttons to flush and to call for help. Smaller ones start rear and front water sprays, stop those sprays, and raise and lower the seat without touching it.

Speaking of raising the seat, the Shinkansen also has urinals. These are the only train urinals I have ever seen.

Urinal on board the Tōkaidō Shinkansen bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo.
Urinal on board the Tōkaidō Shinkansen bullet train from Osaka to Tokyo.

Local Trains

This is a toilet on board a Tobu Railway train from Nikko to Minami-Kurihashi. It's a quadruple threat as it goes into four categories on this site: It's a Japanese, stainless steel, squat, train toilet.

Japanese stainless steel squat train toilet on board the Tobu Railway from Nikko to Minami-Kurihashi.
Japanese stainless steel squat train toilet on board the Tobu Railway from Nikko to Minami-Kurihashi.
Japanese stainless steel squat train toilet on board the Tobu Railway from Nikko to Minami-Kurihashi.