How to Get a Japanese Toilet at Home: What It Does and Which TOTO WASHLET Gives You Each Feature

Many people come back from a trip to Japan talking about the toilets: the warm seat, the gentle wash, the lid that opens as you walk in. The good news is that most of that experience isn't a special Japanese toilet at all. It comes from an electronic bidet seat on an ordinary toilet, and more than 80% of Japanese households have one (Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, 2024). The best known is TOTO's WASHLET, and TOTO sells it in the US. This guide explains what each feature does and which model gives it to you.

What a Japanese toilet actually does

• Warm-water wash. A small wand extends under the seat and washes the rear, or the front with a separate setting, with warm water. You choose the pressure and temperature.
• Heated seat. The seat stays warm, which is the feature people miss most in winter.
• Warm-air dryer. Dries you after washing, so you use far less toilet paper.
• Deodorizer. A fan and filter pull odors away while you sit.
• Bowl pre-wetting and self-cleaning. TOTO's PREMIST mists the bowl before use so waste is less likely to stick, and EWATER+ cleans the bowl and the wand with electrolyzed tap water after use.
• Night light. A soft glow so you don't need the main light at night.
• Auto lid and auto flush. On top models, the lid opens as you approach and closes as you leave, and the toilet can flush by itself.

Three ways to get one

For most homes, the first route gets you almost everything. If you are replacing the toilet anyway, see TOTO Drake + WASHLET for the WASHLET+ option, where the toilet and seat are designed together and the hose and cord are hidden.

Which WASHLET gives you which features

This ladder comes from TOTO USA's comparison table. The big jump is from the A2 to the S2: that is where you get warm water that never runs out, the dryer, the deodorizer and TOTO's bowl-cleaning features, which together are what most Japanese homes have. Above that, you are paying for convenience: a remote, finer settings, and on the S7A, the lid that greets you. Auto flush on the S7 and S7A needs a separately sold kit and works only on select TOTO toilets.

Which one to buy

The model pictures below are drawings. Each model comes in elongated and round versions, so check the shape on the product page. Prices and stock on Amazon change often.

WASHLET S2: the Japanese home experience. Instant warm water, heated seat, dryer, deodorizer, night light, PREMIST and EWATER+, controlled from a panel on the side of the seat. If you want what most Japanese families have, this is it.

WASHLET S5: the same, with a wall remote. The wall-mounted remote is what you see in many Japanese homes and hotels. TOTO's listing also mentions four user memory settings, so each person in the house can save their own preferences.

WASHLET S7A: the lid that opens by itself. This is the one that feels most like a Japanese hotel. The lid senses you and opens, closes when you leave, and the remote can raise the seat. It also has the S7's wide front wash, five-step temperatures and remote flush. If you don't need the auto lid, the S7 has everything else.

What you won't get from a US model

• A sound masker. Many public restrooms in Japan have a button that plays a flushing sound for privacy. TOTO's US WASHLET comparison table doesn't list one.
• A Japanese-market model. Seats sold in Japan are built for 100 V power, have Japanese-only controls, and aren't covered by TOTO's US warranty. Buy a US model; see our TOTO WASHLET guide for why importing is a bad idea.

Before you buy

Every WASHLET needs a power outlet near the toilet (TOTO recommends GFCI), a T-valve on the toilet's water line (included), and a seat that matches your bowl shape, elongated or round. Many US bathrooms have no outlet beside the toilet, so check that first; adding one is a job for an electrician. The rest is a DIY job for most people: see the five steps in TOTO WASHLET vs Brondell vs Bio Bidet. If you have no outlet and don't want to add one, a non-electric bidet attachment gives you the wash, but not the warm seat or dryer.

Which one suits you?

• You want what most Japanese homes have: WASHLET S2.
• You want the wall remote you saw in Japan: WASHLET S5.
• You want the lid that opens by itself: WASHLET S7A.
• You are replacing the toilet anyway: a WASHLET+ toilet and seat.
• You already have an older WASHLET: see C5 vs S2 vs S5.