1. Sort out your front from your back
2. ‘Stand over the bowel’
3. ‘Put down your pants to ankle’
4. ‘Squat down over the bowel’
5. and 6. Check picture for details
7. ‘If you lost balance you gonna fall down on shit!’
The funny thing about this sign, apart from the obvious, is that I spotted it at the Earthquake Museum in a place called Ikebukuro – not somewhere often frequented by tourists. I could understand perhaps a more professional version on the wall in, say, Narita Airport, but really, by the time you make it to the Earthquake Museum in Ikebukuro, you should have your Japanese-style toilet skills sussed.
The only other funny thing about the Earthquake Museum was the 3D glasses we wore to watch the movie:
Right after these pictures were taken, the fun stopped. The kids and I joined a museum tour group (I think this may have been mandatory, hard to tell) and the first attraction was a graphic movie of various earthquake scenarios – at home, at work, in a subway, etc – where shards of falling glass came crashing down on us in 3D and people were trampled trying to escape the metro. It was all in Japanese, so I can only assume they were demonstrating what not to do in the event of an earthquake.
Later, we entered a house full of smoke and had to find our way out. Some doors opened, some didn’t. It was very disconcerting, but very entertaining for the rest of the group who watched on CCTV as we flailed about in the dark. We’d only just recovered from that ordeal when we were ushered into a kitchen to sit around a table. The room began to shake violently and we scrambled to the floor with pillows on our heads while kettles and saucepans came crashing down around us.
Spotting the room full of CPR practice dummies coming up, I began mentally composing Japanese phrases along the lines of, ‘Sorry, we have a prior commitment. Unfortunately we’ll have to depart the tour here.’ Or, ‘Sorry, this place is really freaking us out and we have to leave NOW.’ Perhaps the guide sensed our anxiety, but she dismissed the class – sorry tour group – early.
We made a quick exit, interrupted only by a toilet stop on the way out, where we happened upon the graphic Japanese-style toilet instruction poster. We gathered around the sign for a group laugh (couldn’t resist), then stepped out into the sunlight, sighing with relief.
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Hello there! Have you made it to Hiroshima yet? The museum there is fairly… real.
Comment by Steve Psichalos May 11, 2009 @ 8:32 am