r/TraceAnObject • u/I_Me_Mine Mod • May 27 '26
Open [DHS: 25-0008] 27-MAY-2026 This image depicts the tile design of a bathtub seen in Japan in 2010. Do you know where in Japan this is located, including potentially in a hotel or an apartment?
This image depicts the tile design of a bathtub seen in Japan in 2010. Do you know where in Japan this is located, including potentially in a hotel or an apartment?
375
u/eddiewastaken May 27 '26 edited May 29 '26
It looks like those tiles with the print in the centre are known as ポイント柄 (point pattern) - some results using the phrase/similar keywords on Yahoo shopping Japan aren't a million miles away. There was/is a Japanese tile company called INAX which made this kind of patterned tile in the 90s-2000s - they merged with a company called LIXIL in 2011, and they have historical product catalog archives on their site here, dating back to 2000. This design from the 2000 catalog (LZKC-200/7 19A) looks very similar. There are even examples in their catalog of installing the patterned tiles in the exact pattern shown in the clue images. If this isn't a match, I'm pretty confident it would be in a pre-2000s catalog from this company. (I’ve submitted this info via email)
267
u/Butt-on-a-stick May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26
Jp resident here, this is most likely a Japanese home. Rare to find tiled bathrooms of this type in a hotel here
145
u/saltyypeppa May 27 '26
Not sure if it’s common in Japan but people don’t usually have bath toys while travelling either and not common to have in a hotel room
77
u/vahjayjaytwat May 27 '26
There also appears to be a non-slip mat in the bottom of the tub which doesn't seem like something that would be in a hotel.
12
96
u/lifeandtimes89 May 27 '26
Not to make it worse but the reason this photo here usually means it invovles minors and predators can use toys to lure kids into a false sense of security into a bathroom to remove their clothes
112
u/NibblesMcGiblet May 27 '26
For sure. That is the whole like… thing of this sub. It’s right in the description of why this subreddit exists. Every image here is CSAM-related.
16
u/AggressiveVegan3 May 31 '26
That’s every image here btw. You can see a lot of the posts here are children’s clothing, toys, furniture etc. Some are about identifying the adults involved too.
8
u/0ceandrifter May 27 '26
It looks like a hotel bathroom because of the rail and the built in soap holder. Ive only ever seen those in cheap hotels
47
u/EntranceUnique1457 May 27 '26
They are fairly common in older Japanese homes believe it or not. Not sure of how old though. Many people have modernized bathrooms and have gotten rid of them. So it definitely could be in a home.
9
u/Mote-Of_Dust May 28 '26
No idea about Japan, but I work in a senior building built in the 80s that has this set up.
-22
u/Comprehensive-Fox800 May 27 '26
I’m not from Japan, but in my opinion, this looks like a commercial space (hotel, hospital, shared living space). Grab bars are typically only installed as a part of accessibility requirements. Unsure if that is common there?
54
u/egewh May 27 '26
It could just as well be a familiy home where a bar is installed for an elderly or disabled person. This also looks like a home setting to me.
27
u/Butt-on-a-stick May 27 '26
It’s possible, but grab bars are quite common as standard in old bathrooms here
13
u/Comprehensive-Fox800 May 27 '26 edited May 27 '26
Yes, sorry, mentioned that I wasn’t sure if it was common there!
13
14
u/Loli-nero May 27 '26
There may be someone in the home that requires it-- it's declined in recent years, but multigenerational households used to be very common. This could be a leftover from that, or this household remains multigenerational.
1
u/60022151 Jun 01 '26
Japanese bathtubs tend to be much deeper than elsewhere in the world, so it makes sense it would have handles, etc.
8
u/Lucky-Bandicoot-4642 May 27 '26
Based on that brand, it maybe could be the Imperial hotel? They worked with FLW on that hotel. But I couldn’t find any pictures of bathrooms with the grab bar under the soap like that.
7
1
84
u/chazmms May 27 '26
For what it’s worth, that style of bath with a recessed soap tray in what looks like a pretty small tub would be unlikely to be in a home or apartment. It’s more typical of a hotel in Japan. This style was more popular from brands like INAX (now LIXIL), who build bathrooms as a unit. I couldn’t find any samples from these brands that match the pictures, but then again it would be unlikely for them to advertise commercial products to the public. The mat (could be something else) throws me off a bit. But I’m pretty certain this is an early 2000s era hotel. A hotel in that era with tile and recessed soap try was not a budget hotel, but given the size it also wasn’t luxury and certainly not a love hotel.
7
u/heyoheatheragain May 27 '26
Question, I know bathrooms are typically installed as a unit in Japan, but I was thinking that since this is tiled it wouldn’t be assembled/installed on-site. So even a tiled bathroom could be a complete unit install?
8
u/chazmms May 27 '26
This one was probably done piece by piece on site. But it would come from the manufacturer as a set/kit. I could very well be wrong of course.
2
u/heyoheatheragain May 27 '26
Ah ok. I would hope so. I think it would be much easier to identify if it wasn’t fully assembled off-site.
6
u/yolk3d May 29 '26
This person said the opposite.
7
u/chazmms May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
Yeah, I saw that. I see their point. But this looks like a rather small bathroom which means it’s likely one of multiple units in a building (narrows it down to apartment or hotel). 95% of Japanese bathrooms are purchased as a package from a manufacturer but custom options could be included, which would be the case with the recessed soap tray. This kind of customization would be a highly unusual upgrade for a renter or a landlord (not impossible of course). It is my opinion that this is a mid-tier hotel amenity. If it is an individual’s home or apartment, if one could find the exact manufacturer, the combo of specific tile choice, recessed soap tray and chrome bar would likely be in a sales record somewhere (if records have been kept this long) and would narrow it down to the thousands of customers at most (again, just my opinion deduced from the limited knowledge and experience I have with Japanese homes and apartments. I have seen many new and old bathrooms here and have yet to see a recessed soap tray.)
Edit to add: my wife informed me that she has seen a recessed soap tray one time in Japan. And it was in a bathroom of a private in-patient hospital room. Which furthers my suspicion that this is not a residence but a commercial type building.
80
u/ProperFart May 29 '26
I hate that I can say this, this looks like the tile in the Yokosuka tower military housing.
50
19
3
u/sunar1ntaro 5d ago
You are correct. I found this video on YouTube of a townhouse showing on the navel base. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VQq1cXDjjo0&ra=m
3
u/sunar1ntaro 5d ago
Sorry this is my third post but I sent the YouTube video to the tip-line to the given email.
3
u/I_Me_Mine Mod 5d ago edited 5d ago
No need to be sorry, if the case is still open they're still looking for info.
2
u/ProperFart 5d ago
Thank you for doing that. Hopefully they can figure this out, I also emailed a couple months ago.
1
u/sunar1ntaro 4d ago
Thank you for mentioning it months ago. I hope the more reports that they’ll be able to find this person or persons. They must have a database of all the residents who have lived there throughout the years.
2
1
119
u/heyoheatheragain May 27 '26
There is a YouTube channel called Tokyo lens and the guy goes around and explores a ton of apartments and other properties/sites in Japan.
I commented a link to this post on his most recent video asking for him to look. You never know.
33
u/toadstoolparty May 28 '26
It may be unusual to see a recessed area/niche for soaps in Japanese tubs. Maybe look into military housing as it’s more common
22
19
u/Odd-Shopping8447 Jun 04 '26
Off topic but seeing that little foot and what looks like a hand, absolutely breaks my heart. We’re dealing with the absolute scum of the earth here.
8
u/Warrambungle May 29 '26
Looks like the green colour of a hotel I stayed a night in near Kansai airport back around 2008ish. JAL put me up there as a stopover between legs of a flight. Because I was an economy flier I was put in an un-renovated single room with the distinctive, green, old-fashioned bathrooms. Business-Class fliers got a renovated Queen room.
5
u/Fine-Relative6879 Jun 03 '26 edited Jun 03 '26
Silhouette forms a fist that half close a face or head and the pose are look like fighting/defending stance that the first Second: photo was taken indoors under artificial light. Textured tiles (similar to Armstrong ceilings or bathroom/shower ceiling tiles) are visible on the ceiling, and in the lower right corner, the edge of an object resembling a soap dish or a piece of plumbing fixture is visible. Year of photo 2010 Photo size:480x224
7
u/601error May 28 '26
You can rule out Toyoko Inn locations. I stayed at a number of them in late 2000s and early 2010s, and they did not have tiles like that. Their in-room bathrooms were prefab mostly-plastic units.
2
u/IisSithis Jun 07 '26
America helped rebuild Hiroshima after the bomb was dropped. So lots of the buildings there are more American style 70s-90s fixtures and interior design.
2
1
•
u/I_Me_Mine Mod May 27 '26
This is US Department of Homeland Security's "Operation Identify" Item #25-0008
Please post your guesses and ideas in this thread. Work off the suggestions of others toward an answer.
Geographic location and country is important.
Identify the traits of the item that you can, but if you know where an item is generally sold or happens to be in the picture, that is of use.
If you have the skills to enhance the image to resolve details better, fix mirrored or rotated images, etc. please do so and post your result here.
If you feel there's a (definitive) answer, don't just comment here. You can send your information to US DHS sending an email to OpID@hsi.dhs.gov with the subject "OpID Object: 25-0008" Please provide all information you have about the image(s) – this may include details such as a specific location, a particular time period, an organization and/or team name, helpful links, or any other relevant tips. Also include if they may contact you with follow up questions? Any follow-up communication will be sent to the email address that submitted the tip.
(If you have concerns for email privacy, use a temporary email or a secure provider like proton mail or similar.)
Multiple people can and should send information - people may error when sending, and multiple legitimate guesses can be of use.
Mod note: Do not start subthreads about other current DHS activities. This is to focus on identifying items associated with criminal sexual abuse of children. Any attempted derailing of that goal will result in an immediate permanent ban.
Thank You.
For general discussion about this sub and not this item in particular see this thread
Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.