By Shirley Farmer 
In addition to temples and cherry blossom trees, visitors to Tokyo can now join a pilgrimage through the Japanese city's newest wonder: the public baths.
Penelope Panchuk was inspired by Perfect days (Perfect days(Originally), Wim Wenders's Oscar-nominated film about a Shibuya bathroom cleaner who boards a Tokyo toilet bus and takes a two-hour tour of technically improved toilet facilities.
“In the United States or France, where I come from, we simply don't use it [casas de banho públicas]”, Penelope explained.
“Here in Tokyo, we were very happy to use them because they are so clean, so safe and each one is so different that it feels like a new discovery every time,” he added.
Interest began in March, a month in which tourists visited Japan at a record pace, attracted by a currency drop that enabled many fans of Japanese culture to see the country's landscapes and characteristics for the first time.
Among Japan's most popular technology exports in recent years are bathrooms – made by TOTO, LIXIL and other companies – which include add-ons such as Sprays Cleaning, seat heating, music and other features.
Animated comedy series South Park I recently dedicated an entire episode to them, and to a hip-hop singer DJ Khaled She revealed on Instagram that Rapper Drake offered him four TOTO toilets.
The Tokyo Toilet Project, started in 2020 by the non-profit Nippon Foundation, enlisted creatives including Pritzker Prize-winning architect Tadao Ando to improve the accessibility and artistry of 17 public toilets in the Shibuya area.
The project was not designed as a tourist attraction, but the local government saw an opportunity to expand visitors' interests, so they moved it away from the famous and chaotic Scramble Junction (the center equivalent of Times Square in New York).
“The highlight for visitors is being able to tour less-visited areas of Shibuya and enjoy the entire area while visiting the public baths,” said Yumiko Nishi, director of the area's tourism association.
Kim Kyung-hoon/Reuters
People pay 4,950 yen (30.27 euros) to enter nine different bathrooms, including one with transparent walls that become opaque when users enter and another that operates via voice commands.
Takao Karino, visiting the western Japanese city of Osaka, says he was amazed by the wide vaulted entrance to the bathhouse he designed. designer Briton Miles Pennington.
“There is nothing like this in Japan,” the 69-year-old visitor said. “It's extraordinary, it's unique, it's really wonderful.”