Hi Toilet!
The Tokyo Toilet Project (2020-)
Seventeen renovations of existing toilets
The Tokyo Toilet Project was conceived in the lead-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics as an ambitious initiative to redesign and reimagine public toilets across Shibuya Ward. Initiated and funded by Koji Yanai, Senior Executive Officer of Fast Retailing (and son of Uniqlo’s founder), the project was developed in partnership with the Nippon Foundation, Shibuya Ward Government, TOTO Ltd., and Daiwa Lifenext Co., Ltd.
The project brought together sixteen internationally recognized architects and designers, including Tadao Ando, Shigeru Ban, Fumihiko Maki, and Kengo Kuma, to transform existing public toilets in Shibuya parks and community spaces. Each toilet became a unique architectural work, intended not only to improve sanitation and accessibility but also to change cultural perceptions around public toilets in Japan.
The Nippon Foundation played a crucial role in connecting Yanai with Shibuya Ward, which was already planning to renovate seventeen existing facilities. It also oversaw the maintenance and cleaning program as a form of public education for several years before handing responsibility back to the city in 2024. TOTO used the project as a platform to test state-of-the-art sanitation technologies, while Daiwa Lifenext acted as the builder and fabricator, producing these highly customized structures in a process akin to fabricating public artworks.
Beyond infrastructure, the project extended into culture and media. Cleaning staff uniforms were redesigned under the supervision of NIGO (now Creative Director of Kenzo), emphasizing dignity and visibility for workers. Yanai also invited filmmaker Wim Wenders to produce Perfect Days (2023), a feature film centered on a Shibuya toilet cleaner, positioning the project as both social commentary and cultural export. Even details such as toilet paper featuring photographs by Daido Moriyama blurred the boundaries between design, art, and merchandise, turning an everyday object into a collective multiple. Many of these insights—including the designer bios and project descriptions outlined below—are drawn from The Tokyo Toilet catalogue (published by TOTO) and from Koji Yanai’s talk at Harvard GSD, presented alongside Rahul Mehrotra’s account of public sanitation in India.
For our fieldwork, we approached the Tokyo Toilet Project through the lens of play — attempting to visit and experience as many of the toilets as possible, much like the popular vloggers who document and review them. Due to record-breaking heat waves, we managed to see only eight sites, but the embodied process of searching, visiting, and documenting became its own method of research. Importantly, this allowed us to compare what each design claims to be with what it is like in everyday use. In doing so, we observed how the toilets operate simultaneously as everyday infrastructure, civic experiment, cultural production, and tourist attraction. They also raise questions about the entanglements of accessibility, spectacle, corporate sponsorship, and public life in contemporary Tokyo.
08/04: Tokyo
Nishihara Itchome Park Public Toilet
Designer: Takenosuke Sakakura (Architect, born in 1946. Sakakura joined Sakakura Associates in 1970 and established Sakakura Atelier in 1979, where he now serves as Representative Director and Chairman of Sakakura Associates Architects and Engineers. Following in the footsteps of his father, Junzo Sakakura, he upholds the spirit of modernism and “architecture rooted in humanity.” His works include the Tokyo Midtown Residences.)
Located along the greenway created by the undergrounding of the Keio Line, this facility is organized with a universal toilet room at the center and gender-free toilet rooms at both ends. The sidewalk in front was renovated as part of the reconstruction, improving accessibility for wheelchairs and strollers. The gender-free rooms are symmetrically arranged with handrails, allowing users with disabilities to choose their preferred side.
Designed as an “andon” (lantern) that illuminates the park, the facility ensures ease of maintenance with an efficient layout that eliminates dead space.
08/04: Tokyo
Nanagō-Dōri Park Public Toilet
Designer: Kazoo Sato (Creative director, born in 1973. After working with Sony Music Entertainment and Leo Burnett, he joined TBWA\HAKUHODO in 2010. In addition to his advertising work, he has directed art for music videos and concerts.)
This project set out to create one of the world’s cleanest public toilets, branded as the “Hi Toilet.” It incorporates voice-command, hands-free technology, and a 24-hour ventilation system that combines natural airflow with mechanical exhaust. Fresh air is drawn in from the base of the exterior wall and released through the spherical dome ceiling via a fan installed behind the sanitary equipment.
08/06: Tokyo
Yoyogi-Hachiman Public Toilet
Designer: Toyo Ito (Architect, born in 1941. After working at Kiyonori Kikutake & Associates, Ito founded Toyo Ito & Associates in 1971. His representative works in Japan include Sendai Mediatheque and Minna no Mori Gifu Media Cosmos. In 2011, he also established Ito Kenchiku Juku, a private school for rethinking the future of cities and architecture.)
Located on an irregularly shaped triangular lot beside the forest of Yoyogi Hachiman Shrine, which has a history of more than 800 years, the previous toilet was dark and uninviting despite its prominent position along Loop Route 6 (Yamate Dori). The redesign prioritized safety, accessibility, and ease of use—particularly ensuring women could feel secure using the facility at night.
The solution was a dispersed arrangement of detached structures that eliminates dead ends and improves visibility. Inspired by mushrooms sprouting from the forest floor, the design integrates the toilet with its natural surroundings while providing a bright, welcoming public amenity.
08/06: Tokyo
Nishisando Public Toilet
Designer: Sou Fujimoto (Architect, born in 1971. He established Sou Fujimoto Architects in 2000. His representative works include the Musashino Art University Museum and Library. Expanding internationally, he opened a Paris office in 2016 and was appointed Venue Design Producer for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.)
The Nishisando Public Toilet is conceived as both a vessel and a fountain, inviting contemplation of the relationship between the city and public sanitation. Five faucets are accessible both from inside the facility and from the sidewalk, enabling everyone—from small children to tall adults—to access clean water at their preferred height.
With its deep concave form encapsulating hand-washing basins of varying levels into a single structure, the building embodies the idea of a shared “vessel.” The design claims to contribute civic value by making visible the links between plumbing infrastructure, water, and public life.
08/06: Tokyo Nabeshima Shoto Park Public Toilet
Designer: Kengo Kuma (Architect, born 1954. Established Kengo Kuma & Associates in 1990. Renowned for his innovative use of wood and other natural materials, Kuma has numerous projects worldwide. In 2021, he founded the Kengo Kuma Foundation, a public interest organization offering scholarships.)
Nabeshima Shoto Park, with its spring-fed pond and dense, forest-like greenery, inspired the architect to design a facility that blends seamlessly into its natural surroundings. Instead of a single box-like structure, five small toilet huts are scattered throughout the park, connected by a path called Mori no Komichi (“forest trail”). An infant toilet is placed at the top of the path. The huts’ exterior walls are clad in randomly angled cedar louvers made from Yoshino cedar sourced from Nara Prefecture, a material prized for its tight growth rings and durability.
08/06: Tokyo
Haru-no-Ogawa Community Park Toilet
Designer: Shigeru Ban (Architect, born in 1957. Special Guest Professor, Shibaura Institute of Technology. Established Shigeru Ban Architects in 1985 and the Voluntary Architects Network in 1996. Renowned for his disaster relief work, including paper-tube architecture and partitioning systems for evacuation centres.)
Public park toilets often raise two common concerns for users: cleanliness and safety, particularly the fear that someone may be hiding inside. The architect addressed these issues through the concept of the “Transparent Tokyo Toilet.”
The facilities use instant-dimmable glass technology—panels of tempered glass layered with coloured and dimmable films. When electricity flows, the glass becomes opaque, a technology more commonly seen in office conference rooms. This allows users to see the interior before entering, ensuring cleanliness and safety, after which the walls become opaque for privacy.
Two versions were constructed along Inokashira Dori: one in cool tones and the other in warm tones. At night, the toilets glow like lanterns, adding a new visual presence to the surrounding parks.
08/06: Tokyo
Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park
Designer: Shigeru Ban (Architect, born in 1957. Special Guest Professor, Shibaura Institute of Technology. Established Shigeru Ban Architects in 1985 and the Voluntary Architects Network in 1996. Renowned for his disaster relief work, including paper-tube architecture and partitioning systems for evacuation centres.)
Public park toilets often raise two common concerns for users: cleanliness and safety, particularly the fear that someone may be hiding inside. The architect addressed these issues through the concept of the “Transparent Tokyo Toilet.”
The facilities use instant-dimmable glass technology—panels of tempered glass layered with coloured and dimmable films. When electricity flows, the glass becomes opaque, a technology more commonly seen in office conference rooms. This allows users to see the interior before entering, ensuring cleanliness and safety, after which the walls become opaque for privacy.
Two versions were constructed along Inokashira Dori: one in cool tones and the other in warm tones. At night, the toilets glow like lanterns, adding a new visual presence to the surrounding parks.
08/02: Tokyo
Urasando Public Toilet
Designer: Marc Newson (Industrial designer, born in 1963. His work spans a wide range of fields, from everyday objects to jet planes. His clients include Apple, Hermès, and Nike, and his designs are held in major museum collections worldwide. He is based in London.)
This facility is built on a square plan of approximately 45 m². It is distinguished by a copper roof with curved Minoko detailing, executed by carpenters specializing in shrine and temple construction. The building’s rounded corners and seamless interior, finished in a uniform pale blue-green, create a sense of cohesion and calm. The design also accommodates the practical constraints of the site, including its proximity to a public bicycle parking area.