Won't Miss #515 - the toilet seats

At the risk of inviting comments about fat American asses (any such comments won't survive the moderator, just a word of warning), I have to say that the toilet seats in Japan were generally thin plastic affairs which tended to crack over time. This happened not only to the seat we used in my apartment, but also to the ones that were used by the offices that I worked in. This happened because, over time, the stress points where the seat connected to the back of the toilet fractured over time (like metal fatigue, only with plastic).

Beyond the fact that the toilet seats are thin and flimsy, a complaint that I've actually read other non-Japanese buyers of early models of Japanese washlets make, the way in which they are attached makes them harder to remove. I only replaced the seat in our apartment once in 23 years, but the main reason that an easy removal method is helpful is for easier cleaning. In the U.S., you flip a couple of little plastic things and off it comes. In Japan, I had to reach under and unscrew a couple of plastic screws. I think they were not meant to be taken off for cleaning in general since I also saw T.V. shows that instructed women on how to clean the back of the toilet using a toothbrush for maximum cleanliness.

Maybe I just had bad experiences in Japan and good ones here, but after having the capacity to easily remove the seat and clean it as well as experience much better construction, I don't miss the types of toilet seats I tended to come across in Japan.

Will Miss #487 - no clogs

I lived in the same apartment for 23 years in Tokyo and never once had to think about buying a plunger for the toilet. Maybe I was very lucky, but I also don't recall seeing plungers anywhere in office bathrooms that I worked at or visited. Perhaps the plungers were hidden or there was a magic pixie who lived in my septic system that made sure it was smooth sailing all the way, but for the duration of my time there, I never experienced a clogged toilet. Since coming back to the U.S., I've lived in three different places and each and every one has required the services of a plunger at least once. The odd thing is that the "worst" one in terms of frequency of clogs is a Toto toilet, the very same brand that I had in my Tokyo apartment. My guess is the issue is not the toilets, but rather the toilet paper that is sold in the U.S. I bought recycled paper that was cheap and 1-ply. Most of what you get in the U.S. is 2-ply and "quilted". Apparently, the few seconds of contact with your tender parts has to be well-padded here.

I miss the fact that the toilets I experienced, both Western- and Japanese-style in Japan never clogged.