Finding and using toilets in Japan: stations, konbini, washlet buttons and slippers

Here is how often you will actually need one on a typical sightseeing day, and where you would go. The times are an example; the places are real.

08:30 — Leaving your hotel near Tawaramachi. Nearest reliable toilet: Hotel room. Distance: 0 m.

10:30 — Sensō-ji, after the Nakamise walk. Nearest reliable toilet: Public toilets in the temple grounds: the temple's own map shows four, including one west of the Main Hall and one east of the Hōzōmon gate by Bentenyama. Distance: Under 200 m.

12:30 — Lunch near Kaminarimon. Nearest reliable toilet: The restaurant, or the Asakusa Culture and Tourist Information Center opposite Kaminarimon (toilets inside; open daily 09:00–20:00). Distance: 0–100 m.

14:30 — Ueno Park and Tokyo National Museum. Nearest reliable toilet: Park toilets near the fountain; the museum (ticketed). Distance: Under 300 m.

16:30 — Ameyoko market, crowded. Nearest reliable toilet: JR Ueno station, inside the gates, or the Marui/Matsuzakaya department stores. Distance: 200–400 m.

19:00 — Back near the hotel. Nearest reliable toilet: Konbini, if you ask. Distance: 100 m.

That is five or six stops in a day and you never pay anything. If the only toilet is inside a station's ticket gates, remember those toilets are for passengers: use a toilet outside the gates, or ask the staff at the staffed gate (トイレを使えますか, toire o tsukaemasu ka). Going in without travelling needs a platform ticket (入場券; ¥160 for adults at most JR East stations, valid 2 hours). A department store or park toilet is often closer.

Most Japanese toilets in hotels, stations and shops now have an electronic seat. In January 2017 the Japan Restroom Industry Association agreed eight shared pictograms for its member makers, and in December 2018 seven of them (all except stop) became part of Japanese Industrial Standard JIS S 0103, so the symbols look alike whatever the brand. The panel is on a side arm or on the wall.

Orange or red square, 止: Stop. When to use it: Press first if anything starts unexpectedly.

Bottom with water spray, おしり: Rear wash. When to use it: After use; a nozzle extends and retracts by itself.

Seated figure with spray, ビデ: Front (bidet) wash. When to use it: For women.

Fan or wavy lines, 乾燥: Warm-air dryer. When to use it: Optional; slow, so most people use paper.

Toilet with large swirl, 大: Full flush. When to use it: After solids.

Toilet with small swirl, 小: Short flush. When to use it: After urine only.

Lid up/down symbol: Opens or closes the lid. When to use it: Often automatic.

Seat up/down symbol: Raises or lowers the seat. When to use it: Often automatic.

Other buttons you may see: + and − for water pressure and temperature, a nozzle position slider, and a "sound" button (音姫, otohime) that plays a flushing noise for privacy. Two buttons to leave alone unless you need help: 呼出 (call) or a red button labelled "Emergency" sounds an alarm or calls staff. If you feel unwell or have fallen, that is the button to press. If you press one by accident, wait; staff will come, and "Sumimasen, machigaemashita" (sorry, my mistake) is enough.

How to flush when there is no handle. Look for a button on the wall panel (流す, "flush"), a sensor that flushes when you stand up or wave a hand, or a lever behind the seat. On some panels the flush is on the wall and the washlet controls on the seat arm.

Toilet paper goes in the toilet. Japanese toilet paper dissolves and the plumbing is designed for it. Don't put it in the bin.

The small bin with a lid (サニタリーボックス) is for sanitary products only. Wrap them in the paper provided.

Don't flush wet wipes, paper towels or tissues from your pocket. Japanese local authorities that run the sewers ask people not to flush tissues: unlike toilet paper, tissue paper doesn't break up in water and blocks pipes.

Hand-drying. Many public toilets have no paper towels, and you can't count on a working hand dryer. Japanese people carry a small cotton handkerchief (ハンカチ, hankachi). A 25 cm hand towel costs a few hundred yen at any variety store or ¥100 shop.

Soap is normally provided. Hand sanitiser is common at entrances.

Older stations, parks, temples and rural areas still have some Japanese-style squat toilets (和式). Face the raised hood (towards the wall), with your feet either side of the trough. If the cubicle door shows a symbol, the Western-style one is marked 洋式. In stations with a queue, it is normal to let the person behind you go ahead if you are waiting for a Western-style cubicle.

In private homes, ryokan, some traditional restaurants and some temples, you take off your shoes at the entrance and wear house slippers. The toilet then has its own slippers, waiting at the door.

1. Step out of the house slippers at the toilet door.

2. Step into the toilet slippers.

3. When you leave, put the toilet slippers back, facing into the toilet, ready for the next person.

4. Don't walk out into the corridor in toilet slippers. It's the one slipper mistake people notice.

For more on shoes and entrances, see everyday etiquette.

Accessible toilets (officially バリアフリートイレ; signs may also say 多機能トイレ, 多目的トイレ or みんなのトイレ) have wide doors, handrails, an adult changing bench in some, baby-changing tables and ostomate equipment. They are found in most stations, department stores and large parks. If you have an invisible condition such as IBS or Crohn's disease, these rooms are for you too; see hidden disabilities in Japan. Parents should also look for baby-changing tables in the ladies' and men's toilets, and for nursing rooms (授乳室) in department stores; see Japan with a stroller.

トイレ / お手洗い: toire / otearai. Meaning: Toilet.

男 / 女: otoko / onna. Meaning: Men / Women (men's signs are often blue, women's red).

トイレはどこですか？: Toire wa doko desu ka?. Meaning: Where is the toilet?

トイレを借りてもいいですか？: Toire o karite mo ii desu ka?. Meaning: May I use the toilet?

使用中: shiyōchū. Meaning: Occupied.

清掃中: seisōchū. Meaning: Being cleaned (look for another).

1. Before your first day out, open Google Maps and search "toilet" around your hotel and first sight.

2. Save the nearest department store or station toilet for each.

3. Pack a hand towel and tissues in your day bag.

Shared washlet pictograms: 8 symbols (lid, seat, full flush, short flush, rear wash, bidet, dry, stop) (Agreed January 2017; adopted from fiscal 2017).

JIS standard for toilet pictograms: 7 of the 8 (all except stop) registered in JIS S 0103 (consumer graphical symbols) (December 2018).

Station toilets: Shown on each station's floor and barrier-free map (example: JR Ueno).

Sensō-ji toilets: Four public toilets marked in the temple grounds.

Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center: Toilets; open daily 09:00–20:00.

Mountain toilet "chip": ¥100–300 on Mt Fuji trails (Ministry of the Environment notice).

Accessible toilets (バリアフリートイレ): Wheelchair access, baby-changing, ostomate equipment; MLIT asks that they be left for people who need them (Campaign of 25 November 2025).

Sources for this section: Japan Restroom Industry Association, standard toilet pictograms · Japan Restroom Industry Association, JIS S 0103 registration (PDF, 30 January 2019) · JR East, Ueno Station floor and barrier-free map · Sensō-ji, precinct guide and map · Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo Tourist Info: Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center · Ministry of the Environment, Mt Fuji toilets and the toilet "chip" · Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, campaign for proper use of barrier-free toilets (25 November 2025)

The rules in this guide come from the official pages below. Japan, Booked. does not book or submit requests on your behalf.

• Ministry of the Environment, Mt Fuji toilets and the toilet "chip"
• Japan Restroom Industry Association, standard toilet pictograms
• Japan Restroom Industry Association, JIS S 0103 registration (PDF, 30 January 2019)
• JR East, Ueno Station floor and barrier-free map
• Sensō-ji, precinct guide and map
• Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Tokyo Tourist Info: Asakusa Culture Tourist Information Center
• Kashiwa City, what not to flush (tissue paper)
• Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, campaign for proper use of barrier-free toilets (25 November 2025)
• JR East, platform tickets (入場券)
• Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, design standard on barrier-free toilet signs (PDF)
• Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, report on multipurpose toilets (12 March 2021)