White noise to cover your brown noise.
Japan has covered toilet noises since 1979. Australia flushes twice instead. Donna Burke, the English voice of Japan's bullet train, is bringing the fix home.
marketing@japantoiletsound.com
Donna is available for interviews in Melbourne and Tokyo.
Media kit
Privacy flushing fact sheet
The water Australian workplaces flush just to stay quiet. Estimate, method and sources.
Download PDFHigh-res photos
Donna at Mt Fuji, Donna with the device, product shots and the free app. Free to use, credit Japan Toilet Sound.
Download photosStory angles
- The voice of Japan's bullet train wants Australia to stop flushing twice.
- 11 billion litres a year. Flushed so nobody hears you.
- Toilet anxiety: up to 35% of us have it. Japan fixed it in 1979.
- Unisex toilets are here. Privacy isn't.
- A free app that hides your toilet noises. No app store needed.
- Why Japanese offices have a button for this, and ours don't.
Quotes
"I wish I had this growing up in Australia in the 1970s. Using the toilet at school was a desperate exercise in trying not to be laughed at by the girls in the stalls nearby."Donna Burke, founder
"Japan solved toilet anxiety, and the water wasted because of it, decades ago. It's time for us to catch up."Donna Burke, founder
"It's white noise to cover your brown noise."Donna Burke on 9News
Watch Donna
Also: Donna's mum hears her voice on the bullet train, 4 million views · The viral video with 37 million views · Donna on Instagram · Donna's Shinkansen platform announcements
Coverage
- The New York Times · Like Fancy Japanese Toilets? You'll Love the Sound of This · 2 December 2025 · free to read
- The Hustle · Covering up nature's call with nature sounds · 12 December 2025
- Australian Financial Review · The woman bringing Japanese toilet etiquette to Australia · 8 July 2025
- The Daily Telegraph · Meet the Aussie voice of Japan's bullet train · 20 May 2025 · print
- The Weekend Australian · Product review · 14 December 2024 · print
- Who · Toilet Triumph · print
- 9News · Donna and the Royal Flushh · TV · from 2:19
- ABC Radio · with Lisa Grant · radio
Donna and the Shinkansen
- ABC News · The Australian voice of Japan's high-speed rail announcements · 29 October 2024
- The World · How an Australian expat became the voice of Japan's most famous train · 16 January 2025
- The Guardian · Japan's magic bullet: 60 years of the train that helped rebuild the idea of a country · 29 September 2024
- SoraNews24 · Shinkansen announcer shares moment her mother hears her voice for the first time · 1 November 2019 · 4 million views on X
Product facts
The device
- Wall mounted and battery powered. No wiring.
- Wave your hand over the sensor and it plays a Japanese forest stream.
- Covers farts, plops and splashes.
- For ensuites, offices, schools, cafes and hotels.
The free app
- The same sounds on your phone, free.
- Works on iPhone and Android. No app store, no sign up.
- japantoiletsound.com/app
Japan got there first
- 1979: Japan's first electronic toilet sound device, released during a Tokyo drought.
- 1988: TOTO launches the Otohime, "Sound Princess".
- Today it's standard in Japanese offices and public toilets.
About Donna
Short bio
Donna Burke is the English voice of Japan's Shinkansen bullet train. Yep, that's still what she's most famous for. She also sang and acted in Metal Gear Solid and Silent Hill, and splits her time between Tokyo and Melbourne. Japan Toilet Sound is just something she wants for other people.
Long bio
Donna Burke is big in Japan.
She moved to Tokyo in 1996, when Japan was expensive and Australia was cheap. If you're a gamer, you know her from Metal Gear Solid, Silent Hill 2 and 3 and Tokyo Ghoul, and she has sung her game songs with symphony orchestras in Paris, New York, LA, Osaka and Tokyo. If you're a train nerd, you've heard her on the bullet train since 2003. And if you're in Japan when a big one hits, she's the voice yelling "Earthquake!" from your phone. She also did improv at the Tokyo Comedy Store, which explains a lot.
In 2005 she started exporting Hotteeze heat pads from Japan. Japan Toilet Sound is her latest import. She didn't invent it. Japan has had toilet sound since 1979. She just thinks the rest of the world deserves it too.
Donna splits her time between Tokyo, where the toilets sing, and Melbourne, where they don't. So she made a free app. Now she can plop, shart and tinkle in Australia too, and nobody hears a thing.
More Donna: Glassy Sky, 72 million views · Sins of the Father · Heaven's Divide · The Metal Gear iDroid voice · Wikipedia · donnaburke.com
Writing a story?
Donna can talk toilets, water, anxiety, Japan and the bullet train. Usually all at once.
marketing@japantoiletsound.com