Recently, I was at a storytelling event where I heard an 洞察力に富み興味深い (insightful and intriguing) story from a transgender man who used to be a woman.  He shared with us an emotional story about when he used a public men’s room for the first time in his life.

It happened at a sporting event.  At halftime, he stood in line for the 女子トイレ (ladies’ room) as he had always done before.  But he had been taking testosterone injections, and his body was beginning to change.  He noticed several girls and women in the line were staring at him and whispering to each other.  Suddenly, he realized his 過ち (faux pas).  He left the line and tried to 勇気を奮い起こす (gather up enough courage) to go into a men’s restroom.  However, since he had never used a men’s room before, he felt uncomfortable with the protocols.  He started googling deep philosophical questions such as: “What to do if there’s no stall available – do you 列を作る (form a line)?”

Eventually, he found enough information (no eye-contact, no chitchat with strangers, etc.), 集結する (mustered up) the courage, entered the men’s room and dashed into an open stall.  In there, he was faced with a new question.  Do guys only pee in urinals, or do they 小用を足す (do number one) also in stalls?  His question was answered swiftly when he heard someone in the next stall started peeing.

He went on and described the 音響効果 (sound effects), and the whole room burst into laughter.  My laughing, however, was cut short because this part of his story reminded me of what happens in women’s rooms in Japan, and also my early experience using women’s rooms in the US.

If you have ever traveled to Japan, you must have used those high-tech Japanese toilets with all the bells-and-whistles.  However, if you are a guy, you probably weren’t aware of one of the features, which is a 消音器 (sound silencer/muffler).  Yes, there is a button you can push which gives out a sound of flushing water to cover up the actual sound of 排尿 (urinating).

Before high-tech toilets, Japanese women flushed toilets before peeing to achieve the same effect.  This was a big waste of water, so this tiny button was a brilliant solution to 持続可能なコミュニティを維持する (maintain sustainable communities).

When I first moved to the US, I was surprised to find out that women here do not have the same feelings over the sound they make in restrooms.  I hear every sound they make in stalls next to mine.  It was a カルチャーショック (culture shock) which I never really had a chance to discuss about until now.  The story he shared that night brought back this early memory of mine.  We all face brand-new situations time to time and experience we gain through such moments will become something you can laugh about later in life.  Sharing such moments can be かけがえのない (priceless), if you’re open to it.