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The Tokyo Toilet

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The Tokyo Toilet is an urban redevelopment project in Shibuya, Tokyo conceived by entrepreneur Koji Yanai, of Uniqlo and Fast Retailing, and funded by the Nippon Foundation. It involves the construction of modern high-quality public restrooms, with the aim of encouraging their use and consequently the use of the public spaces they serve, such as parks and other common areas. The project includes 17 structures designed by 16 architects.

Buildings

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The Tokyo Toilet is an urban redevelopment project in Shibuya, Tokyo conceived by entrepreneur Koji Yanai, of Uniqlo and Fast Retailing, and funded by the Nippon Foundation. It involves the construction of modern high-quality public restrooms, with the aim of encouraging their use and consequently the use of the public spaces they serve, such as parks and other common areas.[1] As of January 2024, the project includes 17 structures, the first of which opened on August 5, 2020.[1]

All toilets are located in Shibuya, distributed across the area spanning the neighborhoods of Hatagaya, Yoyogi and Ebisu.[2] They were built to replace previous inadequate structures in terms of space, accessibility or preservation.[3] The buildings were commissioned from 2018 to renowned international architects, who created "distinctive aesthetic" buildings that are "as much art as public utility". The toilets were built for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic the games were postponed and there were almost no tourists.[4]

Seventeen toilets were built by sixteen architects, among them Pritzker Prize winners Fumihiko Maki, Tadao Ando, Toyo Ito and Shigeru Ban.

Film

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Yakusho Koji from Perfect Days at Red Carpet of the Tokyo International Film Festival 2023

To further promote the project, Koji Yanai invited screenwriter Takuma Takasaki, who suggested to make a film and invite a star director - Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese or Steven Spielberg. Wim Wenders was also in the list, and Yanai invited him to Japan. Wenders had an interest in Japan before, and filmed several films there in 1980s. Yanai suggested to produce a series of short films, but Wenders decided to make a full-length movie. Perfect Days premiered in 2023. Koji Yakusho starred in the main role of a toilet cleaner, and won Yakusho "the best actor" prize at the Cannes Film Festival.[4][5][6][7][8][9]

Following the theatrical release of Perfect Days in international markets, interest in Japanese public facilities, particularly those of the Tokyo Toilet Project in Shibuya, has surged.[10][11]

List of buildings

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# Photo Architect Neighborhood Address Opening date Notes
1 Junko Kobayashi (Gondola Architects) Sasazuka Greenway Sasazuka 1-29 10 March 2023 "Weathering steel cylinders"[12]
2 Miles Pennington (University of Tokyo, DLX Design Lab) Hatagaya neighborhood Hatagaya 3-37-8 22 February 2023 "a toilet that can be used as an exhibition space, cinema, pop-up kiosk, information centre or public meeting place"[12]
3 Kazoo Satō (Disruption Lab Team) Nana-gō-dōri Park Hatagaya 2-53-5 12 August 2021 Uses voice control to open the door, flush, and play ambient sounds[12]
4 Takenosuke Sakakura Nishihata Icchōme Park Nishihara 1-29-1 31 August 2020 Glows in a dark like a lantern[12]
5 Sou Fujimoto Nishisandō neighborhood Yoyogi 3-27-1 24 March 2023 Looks like "an oversized sink"[12]
6 Toyo Ito Yoyogi Hachiman neighborhood Yoyogi 5-1-2 16 July 2021 Mushrooms from a nearby forest[12]
7 Shigeru Ban Haru no ogawa community park Yoyogi 5-68-1 5 August 2020 "blue and green walls to complement the surrounding trees"[12]
8 Shigeru Ban Yoyogi Fukamachi Park Tomigaya 1-54-1 5 August 2020 Transparent walls that become opaque when in use[12]
9 Marc Newson Urasandō neighborhood Sendagaya 4-28-1 20 January 2023 Inspired by "historic Japanese temples and tea rooms"[12]
10 Nigo Jingūmae neighborhood Jingūme 1-3-14 31 May 2021 "a small house with a red-pitched roof, blue-framed windows and three chimney-style elements",[12] inspired by Washington Heights[7][13]
11 Tadao Ando Jingū-dōri Park Jingūmae 6-22-8 7 September 2020 Circular building made using "vertical metal louvres"[12]
12 Kengo Kuma Nabeshima Shōtō Park Shōtō 2-10-7 24 June 2021 "A Walk in the Woods", made using cedar wood[12]
13 Nao Tamura Higashi Sanchōme neighborhood Higashi 3-27-1 7 August 2020 Inspired by Origata[12]
14 Masamichi Katayama (Wonderwall) Ebisu Park Ebisu nishi 1-19-1 5 August 2020 "A maze of 15 board-marked concrete walls"[12]
15 Kashiwa Satō West exit of Ebisu Station Ebisu minami 1-5-8 15 July 2021 A box made from "white aluminium louvres"[12]
16 Fumihiko Maki Ebisu higashi park Ebisu 1-2-16 7 August 2020 "Squid Toilet", with a courtyard in its center[12]
17 Tomohito Ushiro Hiro'o Higashi Park Hiro'o 4-2-27 22 July 2022 Light panel "displays 7.9 billion different light patterns referencing the world's population at the point the project was conceived"[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b "THE TOKYO TOILET". 日本財団 (in Japanese and English). 23 June 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  2. ^ "THE TOKYO TOILET". THE TOKYO TOILET (in Japanese and English). Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  3. ^ Tabea Greuner (April 13, 2023). "In photos: Japan's top architects and creatives are redesigning Shibuya's public toilets". Time Out Tokyo. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  4. ^ a b Rich, Motoko (4 February 2024). "How Toilets Got a Starring Role in a Wim Wenders Movie". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Wim Wenders and Yakusho Kōji Take Film to the Toilet with "Perfect Days"". nippon.com. 8 February 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  6. ^ ""THE TOKYO TOILET" Art Project with Wim Wenders, Koji Yakusho, Tadao Ando et al". Wim Wenders. May 11, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Главный герой «Идеальных дней» Вима Вендерса моет уборные в Токио. И они там очень красивые! В Японии они и правда такие? Нет, фильм стал частью проекта The Tokyo Toilet. Вот в чем его смысл". Meduza (in Russian). Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  8. ^ McCurry, Justin (9 March 2024). "Tokyo offers toilet tours amid flush of excitement over Wim Wenders's Oscar hopeful". The Observer. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  9. ^ "Wim Wenders elevates Tokyo toilets into a movie masterpiece". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 27 May 2024.
  10. ^ McCurry, Justin (2024-03-09). "Tokyo offers toilet tours amid flush of excitement over Wim Wenders's Oscar hopeful". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  11. ^ Murphy, Jack (2024-04-18). "Perfect Days elevates the everyday—not unlike Bêka & Lemoine's Moriyama-San". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved 2024-04-18.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Explore all 17 Tokyo Toilet projects featured in Wim Wenders' film Perfect Days". Dezeen. 8 March 2024. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  13. ^ "Nigo creates "friendly" house-shaped public toilet in Tokyo". Dezeen. 15 July 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
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