It is a fitting board. A fold-down place in a public toilet cubicle where you can change without having to put your feet on the "dirty" floor.
I found this one in a local new shopping centre, but previously had only seen them in airports. Which seems to me to be the sensible place to put them. How many people change in shopping centres?
Unless, of course, you are changing a toddler and the floor is wet.
This would also be a useful item to have in the showers at a camp ground!
One of the early things you learn to do when you arrive in the country is how to get in and out of your shoes at the front door. The trick is that you don't ever put your feet down in the "outside" part. There is usually a step or line that designates the difference. You can see it here in this photo. These school children are changing their shoes. The step where they are sitting is the "inside" bit where, if at all possible, no "outside" shoe ever touches. In each pigeon holes there are two slots, the upper one is for indoor shoes and the bottom one for outdoor shoes.
Adults don't usually sit down, of course. It is quite a skill to step into your shoes on your way out and step out of them on your way in. Sometimes I do better than others - depending on the shoes!
A few years ago our youngest had a bit of a bike accident and could wear a shoe for a few weeks. I remember being chastised by a shopkeeper for allowing our son to walk barefooted. It is rare that you see Japanese outside in their barefeet.
It was fun, seeing how creative people got in trying to figure this one out. My favourite comment was from a Japanese friend who looked at the photos and said:
"I have no idea what is that...:0 what I can say is ...Japan has lots of mysterious things."So, even to Japanese, the Japanese are mysterious. What hope have the rest of us got?
LOL about your Japanese friend! But did she tell you that in English or Japanese? ;-)
ReplyDeleteIn English. She knows I'm bad at Japanese!
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