Japan’s toilet tours: designer public loos to flush away dark, dirty reputation of old haunts

Public toilets across Tokyo’s Shibuya Ward have become the Japanese capital’s newest – and most unexpected – tourist attraction.

In the last two years, 17 public restrooms across the ward have undergone remarkable transformations as part of the Tokyo Toilet project, with dark and unwelcoming facilities that in many cases dated back to the 1960s replaced with bright, hygienic and welcoming lavatories.

Designed by such luminaries as Shigeru Ban, the winner of the 2014 Pritzker Architecture Prize and the similarly recognised Tadao Ando, the ward’s terrific toilets have caught the attention of the world’s media.

That was exacerbated by director Wim Wenders’ film Perfect Days – which tells the story of a lavatory attendant whose task is to keep some of these facilities in tip-top condition and was nominated for an Oscar this year.

“They have become hugely popular for many reasons,” said Yumiko Nishi, media manager of the ward’s tourism association. “People have heard about the creators of these places and they know many of the designers’ names because these are famous architects or fashion designers – and they want to see what they created for themselves.

“We are also seeing a lot of people who have seen Perfect Days and want to see the places that were in the film as well,” she told This Week in Asia.

Tours commenced in early March, with a total of 55 people taking part to date, Nishi said. Most of those taking part were Japanese, she said, but there were also foreign tourists keen to explore the ward’s lavatories, and it was anticipated that numbers would increase as more foreign visitors to Tokyo become aware of the facilities.

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Japan’s transparent restrooms hope to dispel stereotypes of dirty public toilets

Tours take place