- Jimmy Kimmel now thinks the US is gross after he visited the bathrooms in Japan.
- "We are like hogs compared to the Japanese," Kimmel said Tuesday during his show.
- The late-night star said he recently took his family on a seven-day trip to the country.
The late-night host Jimmy Kimmel said observing hygiene standards in Japan drastically changed his perspective of cleanliness in the US and that he'd "never felt dirtier" in his home country.
Kimmel said Tuesday evening on an episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" that before going to Japan on a seven-day family trip, he thought the US was "pretty buttoned-up" despite having areas for improvement.
"But now, after traveling to Japan, I realize that this place, this USA we're always chanting about, is a filthy and disgusting country," he said.
Kimmel added that he was blown away, in particular, by Japan's bathrooms.
"Not only did I not encounter a single dirty bathroom, the bathrooms in Tokyo and Kyoto are cleaner than our operating rooms here," Kimmel said.
The TV star lauded the loos at Japanese truck stops, which he said were "cleaner than Jennifer Garner's teeth."
"It's like the whole country is Disneyland, and we're living at Six Flags. I've been home 36 hours. I've never felt dirtier," he said.
Kimmel added that he was impressed by how Tokyo residents didn't litter despite the lack of public trash cans, which were removed by local authorities in the wake of the 1995 sarin gas attacks.
"They're like, OK, no more trash cans. Everybody clean up after yourselves. And guess what? They clean up after themselves," Kimmel said.
"We are like hogs compared to the Japanese. I can't imagine what they must think of us," Kimmel said. "Oh, the garbage people. Yes, the Americans. Garbage. Yes."
Public bathrooms have become the source of tourist fascination in Japan, where toilets can come with automatic bidets, heated seats, sensors that take your pulse, and sound systems to mask the noise of flushing. In 2019, a Japanese toll operator installed public toilets on the Central Nippon Expressway that could measure driver fatigue.
Japan is typically known internationally for fostering a focus on cleanliness and hygiene. During the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the Japanese national team made headlines for cleaning their dressing room after beating Germany 2-1 in an upset.
At the same tournament, FIFA praised Japanese fans for tidying up the local stadium after watching their matches.
Kimmel is one of tens of millions to recently visit Japan on vacation. A weak yen is thought to be fueling a tourism boom there, with government statistics saying tourists spent about $35.9 billion in 2023.
Monthly visitor arrivals in Japan grew to 2.78 million in February, surpassing 2019 levels in what its tourism industry believes will be a continued, strong recovery from the COVID-19 health crisis.
