Optimism

Digital control for Japanese toilet

I was suddenly reminded of my first day in Japan when I caught the scent of lavender soap. I remember that day as if it were yesterday even though it was four years ago. It was January and I arrived in the evening, a cold wind was blowing through the city. I took the limousine bus to the hotel (it's just a bus, but the Japanese have this way of naming everything in a grand manner, such as a regular apartment is not just an apartment, but a "mansion"). The staff were incomparably polite, but they simply will not take tips; it's a matter of professional pride. My room was beautiful... it was serene, yet modern, and the beds... if I had beds like that, I'd never leave my room. What reminded me of this day... oh, yes, the lavender soap. Why? There were designer lavender soaps in the bathroom. Oh, and the bathroom...To this day, I've never been in a nicer bathroom. There is something to be said for a toilet that is warmed and plays music and has a shower function. It has to be experienced... I remember thinking, as I relaxed in the deep tub with the scent of lavender permeating the air, no matter what happens in this next year, nothing could ever go so terribly wrong in a place with such attention to bathrooms.... of course, I was ever so mistaken, but well... we can always start our journeys with hope, can we not?