Happy to go: A participant looking around a public toilet which was redesigned as part of a project to transform public toilets into restrooms that can be used comfortably by everyone, during a Tokyo Toilet Shuttle Tour, at Shibuya, Tokyo. — Reuters
TOKYO: Along with taking in temples and cherry blossoms, Tokyo visitors can now join a curated pilgrimage of the city’s more modern wonders: its public toilets.
Penelope Panczuk was inspired to hop on the Tokyo Toilet Shuttle for a two-hour tour of artistically enhanced public conveniences by Perfect Days, the Oscar-nominated film about a toilet cleaner in the city’s Shibuya district.
“In the US or in France where I originally come from, you just don’t go,” Panczuk said of using public facilities.
“Here in Tokyo, you’re really happy to go because they’re extremely clean, they’re very safe and each one is so different it feels like it’s a new discovery each time,” she added.
The shuttle began in March with visitors flocking to Japan at a record pace, drawn by a slide in the yen that’s made it affordable for many superfans of Japanese culture to take in its sights and quirks for the first time.
Among Japan’s most-revered technological exports in recent years are its toilets – manufactured by TOTO, LIXIL and others – that feature cleansing sprays, heated seats, music, and other functions.
The Tokyo Toilet Project, started in 2020 by The Nippon Foundation non-profit, recruited creators including Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando to improve accessibility and artistry in 17 public toilets in the Shibuya district. — Reuters
