#12: Nabeshima Shōtō Park

A Walk in the Woods

Location #12 is within the Nabeshima Shōtō Park at 2-10-7 Sōtō, Shibuya.

The architect Kengo Kuma, who designed it, is a Distinguished Professor and Professor Emeritus at the University of Tokyo. Among other international awards, he received Finland's Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture Award.

He wrote that the goal was a "toilet village", a cluster of small buildings that blends into the forest.

Visiting the Toilet

Nabeshima Shōtō Park is a 900-meter walk west from the madness of the Shibuya Crossing.

You walk through the unusual commercial-promotional environment around Shibuya Crossing, through several blocks of typical retail and dining, and then your surroundings quickly become residential. Soon you approach the southeast entrance of Nabeshima Shōtō Park.

The Nabeshima Shōtō Park Public Toilet is a short distance inside.

Overview of Nabeshima Shōtō Park Public Toilet

Here's the floor plan. The architect wrote:

We designed a toilet village inside the lush greenery of Shōtō Park. The five huts, each covered with eared cedar board louvers installed at random angles, are connected by a walk in the woods that disappears into the forest. Each toilet that makes up the village is designed with a distinct layout, facility, and interior to accommodate different needs (family, dressing and grooming, wheelchair, etc). [...]

Floor plan of Nabeshima Shōtō Park Public Toilet

Components of the 'Toilet Village' at Shōtō Park Public Toilet

Entrance to a room for women, men, and people with babies.

This one is simple, for routine use. A toilet, a sink, and a changing table for a baby.

Toilet and vessel sink at Nabeshima Shōtō Park Public Toilet

Washlet toilet at Nabeshima Shōtō Park Public Toilet

Urinal and large wood slices at Nabeshima Shōtō Park Public Toilet

Entry to universal toilet at Nabeshima Shōtō Park Public Toilet

Here's the entrance to the universal toilet, the column of pictograms barely fits into the margin of the door frame.

The contrast to the cedar planks makes the red emergency light more visible here than at other locations. All the Tokyo Toilet facilities had a red light triggered by an emergency switch next to the universal toilet and possibly next to others. Often the emergency light and floor plan share a pedestal.

Inside, more slices of timber fill a wall.