ok, i admit it, this is kinda strange.
but i would like to know if i'm the only one who actually value the fact that public toilets are most of the time so clean, conveniently placed EVERYWHERE you need one, and in fact more beautiful and comfortable than the one you'd ever have at home.
i just love them. i feel like japanese people have understood that this is a basic need that require a good feeling of comfort to be executed properly and satisfactorily. and i'm often amazed how easy it is anywhere in japan to find a depaato of a big electronic shop that has 2 spotless bathrooms on every floor, often with heating seats, and hot water/soap available at the clean and beautiful (!) sinks.
on the same lines, i was almost shocked when i dicovered the toilets in the shinkansen to be large (and equipped for disabled people), clean, with little alcohol tissues to clean the seats, and hot water to wash your hands afterwards.
it is a bit sick to link them, but i feel public toilets in japan are as precious and enjoyable as the hot/cold beverages vending machines. they allow me to NOT plan my day when i go out. i can just be anywhere and if i need one or the other, then i find it handy within a 2 minutes walking reach.
i think it's one of the most underestimated true convenient features of japan. there is still this myth of japanese style toilets everywhere, and shinjuku station style stinky bathrooms, but in fact they are now almost the exceptions...
is it only me?