Japan's Culture of Techno-Toilets

"Our engineers say that when you get in [the bathroom], you are king or queen of the toilet and you can use it as you wish," says Osada.

For Japanese whose homes are typically tight on space, she adds, the bathroom is the one place where privacy can be assured – hence the desire for an experience that can be extended by such luxuries as remote control music and appealing fragrances on demand.

Users, happily, can rest easy that all that luxury isn't hurting the environment. Developers have created what might be called the faux flush – a button that conjures a geyser-like sound for those who don't like others to hear their activity.

It dramatically saves on water. Makers of the bidet-like devices also tout that they reduce use of toilet paper by 50 percent to 90 percent. (Americans, it should be noted, use more than 3.2 millions tons annually.)

The high-end model, the Neorest, offers neutral deodorizers as well as fragrances that invoke the four seasons. And the toilet will power up or down according to usage patterns: Osada notes that when she stays later than usual at work, the toilet seat is no longer heated, because it knows that users typically aren't around at that hour.

For all this, a consumer is willing to fork over amounts ranging from about $750 to nearly $2,000 – and that's before you attach the actual toilet. High-end all-in-one toilets can run $5,000.

Jun Ueno, a resident of Tokyo, swears by his Washlet, waxing poetic and downright passionate about its features. To him, it's obvious why a toilet-paper free existence is not only more pleasant, but healthier. A Washlet-free existence is not an option for him.

"I like having these in hotels," said Ueno, a commercial photographer. As backup, he carries a portable version, a squirt-gun-like affair that can do the job in a pinch. Still, he says, "I always desperately hope they have these when I go abroad."

But is the rest of the world ready for a Tiffany-grade toilet seat? Before anyone says no, thinking that this is just another quirky Japanese invention, remember this: the Sony Walkman was met with skepticism when it debuted in the 1980s.