“The Tokyo Toilets” is a project organised by the Nippon Foundation and the municipal administration of Shibuya, a neighbourhood in Tokyo, with TOTO serving as a consulting partner. The new pavilions, designed by prominent international architects like Shigeru Ban and Tadao Ando, are to be completed in time for the Olympics in 2021 – allowing visitors to be able to use a clean toilet anytime, day or night.

The toilet pavilions in Yoyogi Fukamachi Park and Haru-no-Ogawa Community Park, designed by prominent Japanese architect and Pritzker Architecture Prize winner Shigeru Ban, reveal a special feature: The walls are transparent from the outside, allowing passersby to see inside the bathrooms. But there’s a surprising effect: “There are two things that concern people when entering a public toilet – especially in a park. The first is whether or not the facilities are clean. People also ask themselves if anyone is inside,” the architect explained. Thanks to state-of-the-art technology, the glass-enclosed bathroom’s walls are transparent when not in use. Once someone locks the door from the inside, the glass changes colour to become an opaque wall, protecting the user from any unwanted glances. Even if the transparency is a little unusual at first, using the toilet gives people a feeling of safety and comfort.

When working on the new concepts, TOTO explored what would make using a public toilet both safe and comfortable for people. An important aspect was ensuring that people with disabilities could use public toilets easily, including the consideration that those in wheelchairs need extra space. At the same time, bathroom stalls that are too large can be uncomfortable for the visually impaired. The studies also took into account the needs of parents with small children as well as the elderly. TOTO provided information about regular maintenance and cleaning, including details about sterile, antibacterial fixtures. By November 2020, seven of the 13 planned projects had been completed – including ones in Ebisu Park (architect: Masamichi Katayama Wonderwall), Jingu-Dori Park (architect: Tadao Ando) and Haru-no-Ogawa Community Park (architect: Shigeru Ban). “We hope that the project will give international visitors the opportunity to experience a sense of Japanese hospitality. We also hope that we can introduce the culture of clean, comfortable toilets created by TOTO to the rest of the world,” read the statement from Satoshi Shirakawa, Executive Vice President and Representative Director TOTO Ltd.

An overview of locations of the individual toilet pavilions is available here:

https://tokyotoilet.jp/en/

Düsseldorf, November 2020
Reprint free of charge/copy requested

TOTO, one of the world’s leading sanitary ware companies with 36,000 employees world-wide, has an unwavering focus on people and their well-being. Since its foundation in Kitakyushu, Japan in 1917, TOTO has been developing, producing and marketing its comprehensive high-end bathroom concepts – entering the European market in 2009. The company aims to create a new attitude towards life through regeneration, comfort and hygiene, integrating easy-to-use technologies into their product designs in a smart, nearly invisible way. Japan’s leading manufacturer in the sector, TOTO offers a comprehensive range of products including ceramic sanitary ware, faucets and accessories. The company can look back on over 40 years of success in developing and manufacturing WASHLET, having sold over 60 million of them world-wide so far.
TOTO is strongly committed to improving people’s well-being – as well as that of our planet. TOTO joined Initiative RE100 with the goal of becoming an emission-free company and is working towards achieving carbon neutrality at all its locations by 2050 – primarily through the consistent use of renewable energies. In 2021, TOTO received certification from the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) for adopting targets in line with Paris Climate Accord. By selling and developing products that save water, the company is helping conserve resources each and every day. Sustainable products will make up 83% of TOTO’s portfolio by 2030 – with innovative technologies dramatically cutting water consumption. With these steps, TOTO is pursuing complete climate neutrality by 2050 – see our Integrated Report 2024 for more details.

More about TOTO: eu.toto.com