Fast Facts - Tokyo - page 312

312 TOILETS If you're in need of a restroom

in Tokyo, your best bets are train and sub-
way stations, big hotels, department
stores, and fast-food chains such as
McDonald's. Use of restrooms is free in
Japan, and though most public facilities
supply toilet paper, it's a good idea to carry
a packet of tissues.
In parks and some restaurants, espe-
cially in rural areas, don't be surprised if
you go into some restrooms and find men's
urinals and private stalls in the same room.
Women are supposed to walk right past
the urinals without noticing them.
Many toilets in Japan, especially those
at train stations, are Japanese-style toi-
lets: They're holes in the ground over
which you squat facing the end that has a
raised hood. Men stand and aim for the
hole. Although Japanese lavatories may
seem uncomfortable at first, they're actu-
ally much more sanitary because no part of
your body touches anything.
Otherwise, Western-style toilets in
Japan are usually very high-tech. Called
washlets, these combination toilet/bidets
have heated toilet seats, buttons and knobs
directing sprays of water of various inten-
sities to various body parts, and even lids
that raise when you open the stall. But
alas, instructions are usually in Japanese
only. The voice of experience: Don't stand
up until you've figured out how to turn
the darn spray off.
VISAS Most foreign tourists, including
Americans, Canadians, Australians, New
Zealanders, and citizens of the United
Kingdom and Ireland, do not need visas to
visit Japan. Nationals of countries that do
not have reciprocal visa exemption
arrangements with Japan must obtain a
visa. A Temporary Visitor's Visa allows
tourists to stay in Japan for up to 90 days.
Applicants must apply in person to a Japa-
nese Embassy or a consulate with a valid
passport, two passport photos taken
within the past 6 months, two official visa

automatically to your bill. Most business
hotels usually offer only one kind of pay
movie—generally “adult entertainment”
programs. If you're traveling with children,
you'll want to be extremely careful about
selecting your TV programs. Many adult
video pay channels appear with a simple
push of the channel-selector button, and
they can be difficult to get rid of. In budget
accommodations, you may come across
televisions with coin boxes attached to their
sides or, more common nowadays, vending
machines in the hallway offering prepaid
cards. These are also for special adult enter-
tainment videos. Now you know.
TIME Japan is 9 hours ahead of Green-
wich Mean Time, 14 hours ahead of New
York, 15 hours ahead of Chicago, and 17
hours ahead of Los Angeles. Because Japan
does not go on daylight saving time, sub-
tract 1 hour from the above times if you're
calling the United States in the summer.
Because Japan is on the other side of the
International Date Line, you lose a day
when traveling from the United States to
Asia (if you depart the U.S. on Tues, you'll
arrive on Wed). Returning to North
America, however, you gain a day, which
means that you arrive on the same day you
leave. (In fact, it can happen that you
arrive in the U.S. at a time earlier than
when you departed from Japan.)
TIPPING One of the delights of being
in Japan is that there is no tipping—not
even to waitresses, taxi drivers, or bellhops.
If you try to tip them, they'll probably be
confused or embarrassed. Instead, you'll
have a 10% to 15% service charge added
to your bill at higher-priced accommoda-
tions and restaurants. That being said, you
might want to tip, say, your room atten-
dant at a high-class ryokan if you've made
special requests or meals are served in your
room; in that case, place crisp, clean bills
(¥3,000 to ¥5,000) in a white envelope on
the table of your room at the beginning of
your stay; but it's perfectly fine, too, if you
choose not to tip.

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