Tim was official photographer. He noticed all the little kids running around the parking lot in their socking feet. We should probably head over to the Commissary now, as there's gonna be a run on bleach!
I have noticed at the Exchange and the Commissary that if you see it, and it's your brand, you better stock up NOW. There have been several items not there when I've returned for them.
Okay, back to the original story. So, we went out to Mabori Kaigan. The community map shows how it's laid out. I was laughing with Tim that about 10 of these home areas probably equal our 2 lots sized back home. This map is of section 1 of 3 that make up the area, a part of Yokosuka.
Anyhoo, we headed out by train, for William's amusement, to see the area, and look at the place that we think might be our house. All of a sudden, William is dancing, and has to go POO. Uh oh. It was a trek back to the train station, where we know there are bathrooms. We know to carry toilet paper (not always available),
so we're feeling confident at success. We use our train passes to get through the wickets, and Tim and William discover.... it's a traditional Japanese toilet. It is in the floor.Tim asks me to take him, as he's not wanting to go, and I might handle this potentially sticky situation better. I take him in, and explain that we need to take off his pants (easier for kids to not get poo on something), and he REBELS. "No! I want a REAL toilet!" I explain that this is a real toilet. People have been squatting for millenia. Billions of people in China squat today. He was unconvinced.
Then we had to get out of the train station. The wickets locked us in, as we hadn't gone anywhere. Under time pressure, it was difficult to explain toilet, and we'd only gone in to use one (they thought that we needed one, and kept trying to lead us back to one). Eventually, they gave our electronic ticket cards back, re-set.
So, we headed for the 7-11. William is now upset about the Japanese toilets. He wants a REAL one, and I'm saying, 'But where do you live, William? Japan! We're going to eventually have to deal with Japanese toilets!'
Luckily, the 7-11 had a toilet that was western style. Tim got him set up, but William balked. Apparently, all the buttons and gadgets to the side of the toilet seat freaked him out. He was concerned what would happen if he pressed one (your butt might get wet!). He wouldn't go. He started saying, "I want an AMERICAN toilet!"
So, we went to a park across the street to let him run. I know that this will produce another 'need.' My plan was to run him across the street to 7-11 and re-introduce him to the western style toilet, and maybe the new familiar would be okay then.
Nope. As soon as he sat down on the electrically heated seat, the need went away.
Okay, it's a very wonderful idea the Japanese have had for comfort. I know people who order these type of toilet seats to take back to the states with them. A warm seat is a wonderful thing. BUT, in a public toilet, it kind of loses its charm for me.
Anytime you sit on a cold public toilet, you can convince yourself that you are the very first person to sit on it since it was cleaned. Life is good. When the seat is warm, it's hard to keep that illusion. You're wondering why you didn't see the last person actually leaving the stall.
So, we had to get home. No stopping at the fresh fruit stand, no stopping at the 100 Yen store (Dollar store), no going up and down escalators for fun, we were getting home to familiar cold porcelain. Worked like a charm.
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