Toilet Village Opens in Preparation for Summer Olympics

Visitors to Tokyo for the Olympic Summer Games who are looking for public restrooms will enjoy a walk down a meandering path to scenic cedar huts.

Designed by architect Kengo Kuma, the new restroom complex—“The Toilet Village”— is the ninth of 17 new public restrooms to be built as part of the Tokyo Toilet Project, an effort to improve the city’s infrastructure before the Olympic Games, which begin on July 23, the European Cleaning Journal reports. Previous restrooms featured transparent glass that turn opaque when in use and a building constructed to appear as if it floats in the air.

Situated in Tokyo’s Nabeshima Shoto Park, The Toilet Village includes five huts camouflaged by cedar planks and connected by a footpath. The facility was designed to reflect the parkland environment and provide restroom visitors with the feel of a woodland walk.

Each village “hut” including changing tables for infants and enhanced wheelchair access. One hut is designed specifically for children while another is set up for people changing clothes to participate in park-based activities.