SoraNews24 —Japan News—

Bringing you yesterday's news from Japan and Asia, today.

TOP

» Japan
» Foreigner delights Japanese netizens with hilarious video about Japanese washlet toilets

Featured

Weird
Studio Ghibli
Jobs

Foreigner delights Japanese netizens with hilarious video about Japanese washlet toilets

Dale Roll Mar 16, 2018
Tweet

With slapstick, situational comedy and a clever use of language, the video is sure to make anyone laugh.

Washlets, as Japan calls its multi-functioning, high-tech, ultra luxurious comfort potties, have become one of Japan’s most popular inventions. They’re a bit confusing to figure out at first, but stay in Japan long enough, and you just might find yourself loving them enough to bring one home.

One foreigner made a video expressing that childlike wonder we all experience when we encounter our first washlet, and unsurprisingly it has blown up among Japanese netizens. Twitter user @mr_yabatan‘s specialty is comedy videos and celebrity impressions, but what makes this particular video so funny, at least to us as foreigners, is that it’s completely relatable in every way. He was surprised that the cover lifts up automatically when he opens the bathroom door, is confused by all of the buttons, and is shocked when he accidentally uses the bidet for the first time, just as we all have been.

https://twitter.com/mr_yabatan/status/973693981698662401

Mr. Yabatan is a comedian from Norway, who, despite appearing to have lived in Japan for a long time, often plays a silly foreigner exploring Japan for the first time. He is usually portrayed as a gleeful, excited, but sometimes perplexed foreigner in his videos, and his trademark “I am really surprised!” is probably one of his funniest bits. His videos are in Japanese, but they’re subtitled in English, so all can enjoy.

▼ Just look at his sheer glee when the cover lifts up automatically in his washlet video!

Though Mr. Yabatan probably isn’t really new to Japanese toilets, judging from his apparent mastery of the Japanese language, we can all appreciate the feelings he expresses in the video. Japanese netizens, always fans of silly videos, also found Mr. Yabatan’s toilet experience hilarious.

“‘The toilet is alive.’ What a fantastic expression!”
“I laughed so hard at the end haha.”
“Anyone who has never experienced the washlet must try it once in their lives lol.”
“With the last wrong button push I laughed so hard my abs started to hurt haha.”
“Japanese toilets are pretty cool, aren’t they? lol I never noticed until now.”
“I watched this with my little brother. We both laughed so hard. We’re waiting for the next video!”

While foreigners might find the shared experience the funniest part, what might make this funny to Japanese netizens is the over-the-top comedy. If you’ve ever watched a Japanese variety show, you’ll know that Japanese comedians and variety stars will do almost anything for a laugh. Plus, his peculiar combination of fluency and stiffness in Japanese, coupled with a foreign accent, surely helps to endear him to Japanese audiences, as he is at once the innocent, funny foreigner, as well as a natural-sounding Japanese speaker. It might be similar to how the “Why Japanese people?” guy became so instantly popular, but either way, it’s hilarious.

I wonder if Mr. Yabatan has thought about making any reaction videos? I’d like to see his response to the naked magician with his tablecloth. No doubt he will shout “I am very surprised!”

Source: Twitter/@mr_yabatan via My Game News Flash
Images: Twitter/@mr_yabatan