Thank you for joining the tour on May 29 at Ueno Park. We welcomed eight people from Australia, America, Germany and Poland. The weather was fine and we hope you enjoyed walking with us. The photos we took during the tour are posted.
Ueno Park is known for a significant cultural center in Tokyo. In addition to the seven museums, there is a unique museum called ‘Toilet Museum’ making the park more artistic.
The Toilet Museum was built four years ago when it was renewed. After being asked by the Tokyo Metropolitan government officials, the volunteer students of the nearby Tokyo University of the Arts proposed the restrooms to consider the implication of stool, a fundamental part of everyday life for humans and animals. 33 students were involved.
The concept is ‘Stool and health’. For humans, bowel movement is often associated with unclean image, but zookeepers everyday observe the color, shape and texture of poop and have a grasp of health status of their animals at Ueno Zoo. Bodily excretions are important source of information for zookeepers.
The restroom walls are covered with tiles shaped like poop. The stalls are designed to recall animals’ natural habitats. Different animals such as pandas, lions, giraffes, penguins, and birds are drawn. All of these works look realistic and have a very fine touch.
The Toilet Museum is located close to the iconic fountain on the way to the Sogakudo Hall at Ueno Park. This is a public toilet but is absolutely clean and artistic. It will be an enjoyable experience for you to use the toilet and think a little about ‘Stool and health’ while using the unique toilet.
In the meantime, visiting some public toilets are booming in Tokyo. There is a tour exclusively targeting to the public toilets at the Shibuya area.
Once again, thank you for joining our tour at Ueno Park and we look forward to seeing you at other occasions.
(posted by Yoshi)