#15: Ebisu Station

White

Location #15 is at 1-5-8 Ebisu-Minami, Shibuya, just outside the north end of the west exit from Ebisu Station.

The designer, Kashiwa Sato, wrote that he aimed to make the facility easy to find, enter, and use, with a clean appearance.

The exterior of the toilet is entirely white. It is wrapped in a white lattice around a white solid cube. Lights inside the lattice and in in-ground fixtures just outside provide an overall white glow at night.

Visiting the Toilet

As you exit the north end of the station's west exit, you pass a statue of the deity Ebisu, a traditional god of fishermen and good luck, considered by Shintō to be a kami.

Yebisu is a beer brand, one of Japan's oldest brands, first brewed in this district in 1890, providing the name for the district. The brand was purchased in the early 20th century by Sapporo, which re-established the product line in 1971. It's an old brand name, dating back to when now-obsolete kana spellings with ヱ and ゑ were still in use. You don't pronounce the "Y" in the romanji spelling "Yebisu".

Exiting the north end of the west exit of Ebisu Station. A statue of the deity Ebisu is just outside the exit, then a phone booth, then the public toilet, and then the koban or neighborhood police station.

The public toilet is next to the koban, the neighborhood police station.

Ebisu Station Public Toilet and koban or police station.

The space between the outer lattice and the body of the toilet is brightly lit at night.

Entrances to the Ebisu Station Public Toilet.

Here's the floor plan. There aren't specific men's and women's toilets, the single-user facilities are for either.

Floor plan of Ebisu Station Public Toilet.

Interior of single-user toilet at Ebisu Station Public Toilet.

The universal toilet has the usual array of equipment, with plenty of shelf space to be especially helpful to ostomates.

Interior of universal toilet at Ebisu Station Public Toilet.

Crossing the street on my way to the next location, I could look back to the koban, the toilet, and the station.

Koban or neighborhood police station, Ebisu Station Public Toilet, and Ebisu Station.

Moving on to the Next Location

Four Tokyo Toilet project facilities are within short walking distance from Ebisu Station — #13, #14, #15, and #16. The JR Yamanote Line, Saikyō Line, and Shōnan-Shinjuku Line serve Ebisu Station, as does the Hibiya Line of the subway.

Next❯ #16: Ebisu East Park

Tokyo Toilet — Overview and Introduction
#1: Sasazuka Greenway #2: Hatagaya #3: Nanagō Dōri Park #4: Nishihara 1-chōme Park #5: Nishisandō #6: Yoyogi Hachiman #7: Haru No Ogawa Community Park #8: Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park #9: Urasando #10: Jingūmae #11: Jingū Dōri Park #12: Nabeshima Shōtō Park #13: Higashi Sanchome Park #14: Ebisu Park #15: Ebisu Station #16: Ebisu East Park #17: Hiroo East Park

Other Toilets in Japan: