Understandably, planning a holiday when you have Irritable Bowel Syndrome or just need easy access to toilets quickly, can be an embarrassing additional stress.
So I wanted to share a hack for an easy way to always know where your closest bathroom in Japan is at all times.
My tip is to download an app called Mamapapamap.
This app has been designed for breastfeeding mothers and parents with small children – to show places to change baby, heat up food and also shows where to find boiling water to make formula or heat up baby food.
But is is also great for using to help you find toilets as ADULT toilets are also found in all of these places. The app is in English and is updated often. Highly recommend.
If you’ve enjoyed this tip I think that you will also like my tips here on navigating awkward situations in Japanese– it’s a little cheat sheet that I have made.
In this article I also include phrases like “I’m constipated” or “I have diarhorrea” – which can be handy if you need to ask for medicine at a drug store.
Did you know that you can also buy a portable toilet at the drugstores or on Amazon in Japan?
It can be used by adults or children for car trips or just to have with you for emergency situations. It can also be handy when toilet training children in Japan. 
Here is an example of a well-known brand of diarhorrea medication sold over the counter at drug stores in Japan.
