The flush toilet includes a bowl portion including a waste receiving surface, a rim portion and a shelf portion; a rim spouting portion disposed on the rim portion for spouting flush water onto the shelf portion to form a swirl flow on the waste receiving surface; a rim water conduit communicating with an opening portion formed in the lower region of the waste receiving surface of the bowl portion; wherein when flush water is supplied from the flush water source, the spouting of flush water supplied via the water conduit to the opening portion begins before the start of spouting of flush water supplied via the rim water conduit to the rim spouting portion.