Tokyo Launches Renovated Public Toilet Tour To Provide Unique Experience

Public toilets in Tokyo, Japan. (Wikimedia Commons/)

JAKARTA - The tour to public toilets that have been renovated in the Shibuya Region, Tokyo, Japan was launched in March to eliminate traditional perceptions, the facility is dirty and smells, thus giving visitors from within and outside the country a unique lens to see the city.

A total of 17 public toilets have been redesigned by leading architects under the The Tokyo Toilet project, turning spaces that are often abandoned into safer and more fashionable buildings.

Many people who take part in this tour are interested in architecture, said Yumiko Nishi, the manager of the tourism association's PR in the area, who toured using a pick-up minivan, quoted from Kyodo News May 1.

While this tour is still in its early stages, interest from foreign visitors has begun to rise, Nishi added, expressing hope this tour will become more popular in the future.

Although most tours are conducted in Japanese, the project has been promoted to English-language pamphlets and websites as well as photo exhibitions in the Japanese capital.

The architects involved in the project include Kengo Kuma, famous for the National Stadiums used for the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in the summer of 2021, and Toyo Ito, winner of the Pritzker Architecture Award recognized for the Taichung National Theater in Taiwan.

Other participants were interested because they were interested in seeing the location featured in the Oscar nomination film "Perfect Days", which follows the simple life of a public toilet cleaner in Tokyo, played by Koji Yakusho, said Nishi.

These facilities include Ito's "Three Legends", which are made resembling mushrooms that grow from the forest around the Yoyogi-Hachiman temple, on its feet.

The project was founded by Nippon Foundation non-profit and Koji Yanai, an executive at Fast Retailing Co., operator of clothing network Uniqlo.

The first facility in the project opened to the public in 2020 and the latest addition last year. Toilets are cleaned three times a day and undergo routine checks.

This tour is divided into two parts, the eastern and western routes which are held simultaneously on Thursdays and Saturdays starting at 10 am and 14 pm. The rate is 4,950 yen per person. This tour lasts for about two hours, and participants are allowed to use the facility.

"West Rute is a little more popular as it includes many well-known architect works and is a less well-known area in the neighborhood," Nishi said.

The route includes the work of Shigeru Ban, which is the only architect to donate two separate facilities. A colorful and transparent bathroom that turns opaque when locked may be among the most famous.

Tire design is made to relieve fear around public toilets, especially if someone is already inside or hiding in it, Nishi said.

Shinobu Kojima, one of the western route tour participants, said her favorite was Sou Fujimoto toilet, a bright white facility located in the Nishisando area, due to its "soft curvature".

Some of the taps in front of the toilet are placed on a gentle slope at different levels, so people of all ages can wash their hands at the same time and easily.