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[00:00.04]Tokyo visitors can now join a special tour

[00:04.44]of one of the Japanese city's modern wonders:

[00:08.60]its public toilets.

[00:11.44]Penelope Panczuk recently went

[00:14.08]on the Tokyo Toilet Shuttle

[00:16.48]for a two-hour visit

[00:18.40]of artistic public bathrooms.

[00:21.64]Panczuk got the idea after seeing "Perfect Days",

[00:26.16]the Oscar-nominated film

[00:28.44]about a toilet cleaner

[00:30.28]in the city's Shibuya district.

[00:33.76]"In the U.S. or in France where I originally come from,

[00:38.08]you just don't go," Panczuk said

[00:41.12]of using public bathrooms.

[00:43.44]She added that in Tokyo,

[00:46.68]the bathrooms are "extremely clean,

[00:49.64]they're very safe and each one is so different

[00:53.28]it feels like it's a new discovery each time."

[00:57.16]The shuttle began in March

[00:59.92]with visitors coming to Japan in record numbers.

[01:04.24]A drop in the value of the Japanese yen

[01:08.36]has made it less costly

[01:10.88]for many lovers of Japanese culture

[01:13.60]to visit for the first time.

[01:16.32]Among Japan's most-loved

[01:19.60]technological exports in recent years

[01:22.60]are its toilets produced by TOTO.

[01:26.04]The devices have cleansing sprays,

[01:29.44]heated seats, music, and more.

[01:33.52]The American animated comedy show South Park

[01:37.04]recently had a whole program on the toilets.

[01:40.88]Hip-hop music star DJ Khaled announced on Instagram

[01:46.00]that he appreciated a gift

[01:48.36]of four TOTO bowls from the rapper Drake.

[01:53.00]The nonprofit Nippon Foundation

[01:55.76]started the Tokyo Toilet Project in 2020.

[02:01.04]It asked creators

[02:03.16]including Pritzker Prize-winning architect

[02:06.16]Tadao Ando to develop new toilets.

[02:09.64]The goal was to increase accessibility and artistry

[02:14.40]in 17 public toilets in the Shibuya district.

[02:19.80]The project was not meant

[02:21.72]to be something foreign visitors would want to see.

[02:25.32]But Shibuya's government saw a chance

[02:28.64]to increase interest in the area

[02:31.52]beyond its famous street crossing.

[02:34.36]"The highlight for visitors

[02:36.40]is that they can be driven around

[02:38.76]the less-visited parts of Shibuya

[02:41.96]and enjoy the entire district

[02:44.56]while checking out the toilets," said Yumiko Nishi,

[02:48.88]a tourist association manager for the area.

[02:53.72]People on the tour pay $32.76

[02:58.24]to visit nine different toilets,

[03:01.08]including one with clear walls

[03:03.92]that turn opaque when users enter.

[03:07.36]Another is operated by voice commands.

[03:11.40]Takao Karino, visiting from Japan's western city of Osaka,

[03:17.88]wondered at the wide entrance of a facility

[03:22.08]created by British designer Miles Pennington.

[03:25.92]"There's nothing else like this in Japa"

[03:29.08]69-year-old Karino said about the tour.

[03:33.00]"It's unusual, it's unique,

[03:35.60]it's honestly brilliant."

[03:38.88]I'm John Russell.

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Words in This Story

tour –n. a trip taken by people visiting a place on vacation or for pleasure that is led by a guide who tells about the interesting things in the area

toilet —n. a large bowl attached to a pipe that is used for getting rid of bodily waste

bathroom – n. a room in a public place with a toilet and sink

originally – adv. when something first happened or began

animated –n. a cartoon using imaginative drawings rather than filmed pictures of real people

accessibility – n. able to be reached or approached

opaque – adj. not letting light through

unique –adj. one of a kind, not like anything else