Washiki

When I first arrived in Japan, I was a little worried about the fact that I would regularly have to use washiki, or squat toilets, which are far more common (at least in public toilets) than Western style toilets (what we'd call a "normal" toilet). I even had the thought that maybe I'd be able to just never use the bathroom at my school. Obviously that was stupid. Well, I got used to using the washiki at my school, and in public bathrooms, and for the most part it doesn't bother me anymore. Then, last week, after being at my school for almost two months, I made a discovery: in the very same bathroom I've been using every day, there is, in fact, a Western style toilet, in what I thought was a storage cabinet. I was so surprised! I had no idea it was there. So I was thinking, this is great, now I don't have to use the washiki anymore. The next time I went to the bathroom, I headed to the Western toilet; then I thought, "no, the washiki's easier." This kind of logic makes absolutely no sense, but its something very Japanese that I suppose I must have picked up form experiencing the realities of daily life here. For some reason, the washiki seems like the more convenient choice. I'm not sure why, but if nothing else, it's because when you're in a dirty public bathroom, you don't actually have to touch anything. I guess it's like why men use urinals? Maybe? I don't know.