One of Japan’s Greatest Inventions

There's one feature of Japanese culture that most tourists don't rave about but should. Japan has the best toilets in the world. Bar none.

No matter where you go (literally) — public bathrooms, department stores, train stations, even the (gasp) subway — you will find an immaculate toilet.

Hey, things are clean, really clean in Japan. I mean, you can eat off the floor of the train station. Cabs have spotless white seat covers and little doilies where your head meets the back of the seat. The cab has been through a car wash within the last hour, and the driver is wearing white gloves (as a former New Yorker, this is like a mirage).

So last time I was in Tokyo, I had just bought a new pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses. Since I was in a department store, I went to the toilet after I purchased them. When I finished, I leaned over the toilet and the glasses slipped out of my top shirt pocket and, with a terrifying splash, dropped into the toilet bowl.

I hesitated for a moment, preparing to bid my new glasses goodbye. Then, in the only place on earth I would ever do this, I reached down and plucked them out of the water. A quick rinse in the tidy sink, and I was happy again.

I was so impressed that when I went home, I immediately bought Toto toilets for every bathroom in my house.

Now it's hard to leave home. I wish I could take them with me on trips.

This is not an ordinary toilet. First, when you sit down, the seat is warm. That, in the middle of winter, in the middle of the night, is a godsend.

Second, they have this elaborate control panel that does just about everything but brush your teeth. (First timers — read the manual.) You press a button, and a gentle warm spray of water cleans your bottom. How simple is that?

Select the spray direction, intensity, water temperature, heat, dryer, and, most importantly, the stop button.

My guests rave about it (except one squeamish guest who thought the warm seat made her feel uncomfortable, as if someone else had recently occupied it).

And best of all, you will avoid the most embarrassing dilemma of all — running out of toilet paper.