It's a path dependancy issue. Japanese bathrooms are constructed with power to the toilet so that washlet conversion is easy. American bathrooms don't have power to the toilet so its either a feature specifically requested by the homebuilder or an aftermarket mod. Its no longer a plug & play consumer product so it makes it hard to merchandise and then the chicken & egg effect takes over.
The prices quoted in this article are significantly higher than what I paid.
The Toto c100 washlet, which I installed in May 2017, currently runs for less than $360 on amazon [0]. And, despite the fact that I live in the suburbs of Washington DC (a notoriously expensive place to live), I had a licensed electrician do a next-day install of a GFI outlet in my bathroom for $150.
Installing the washlet was easy, and I had the requisite tools, so I did it myself.
I ended up spending just over $500 in total, which is less than the minimum quoted by the article. I agree with the author's points though on the quality of life improvements one receives from having a washlet!
I want to first point out that the PR article linked is a years-old advertisement trying to convince anglophones to buy $600 washlets.
But more than just point out its commercial intent, I want to discuss a little about the topic of why Japan has washlets.
A washlet is a combination of a toilet and a bidet -- sometimes with other added features, but this is the core of it. Japan, specially overpopulated urban Japan, has a lack of living space. Given how cramped the apartments and houses in, for example, Tokyo can be, it makes sense to combine a toilet and a bidet to save space.
In Japan, it's sometimes cheaper to buy a $600 toilet + bidet combo than to pay for the extra space to install a separate bidet. Or sometimes the bathroom is so tiny that they have no other choice.
The US and Europe generally doesn't have this problem. That's why we're not all using washlets. Because we can just install a separate toilet and bidet for a cheaper price.
And if you want a heated seat, you can get a toilet with that for much cheaper than a $600 washlet.
European here -
I've been to countless homes and would say that less than 1% of homes have bidets (at least around Germany, Benelux), so that statement does not make much sense.
I've been to Japan and recognise their toilets as more useful/comfortable as what you'd encounter here, which is a standard toilet.
The bidet is fine; it's a little weird for those of us who aren't used to it. The best feature of Japanese toilets is the heated seat. Your butt will never be cold again.
I have one of these on a toilet in my new home. I was a skeptic for a bit, and finally gave it a whirl. It's remarkably effective. My wife and son now love the thing too.
The key is to use it BEFORE you apply any paper. My experience is that the paper is basically just used to dry things off now. It's life changing.
i have no idea, while i never got on with the whole bidet thing i do think that heated seats should be a basic human right! when you first get there youll likely find them a bit weird but by the time you leave you have begun to actively hate the idea of an unheated seat
