In preparation for an expected 40 million visitors during
Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic games, the Japanese government has launched a national
toilet improvement campaign.
A good restroom is a high expression of Japanese hospitality
or omotenashi; in 2015, the national government established an annual “Japan Toilet
Grand Prize” to encourage innovations in toilet technology. The new
campaign focuses on public facilities, and aims to redesign “comfort rooms” for
all types of users from around the world.
Japan is already world-famous for its high tech Toto washlet toilets—a
delightful self-cleaning unit with heated seats, dryers, and deodorizers. But
the government’s challenge in preparation for the Olympics is to rethink the
entire experience—from mitigating lines in bathrooms to standardizing
toilet icons.
In preparation for an expected 40 million visitors during
Tokyo’s 2020 Olympic games, the Japanese government has launched a national
toilet improvement campaign.
A good restroom is a high expression of Japanese hospitality
or omotenashi; in 2015, the national government established an annual “Japan Toilet
Grand Prize” to encourage innovations in toilet technology. The new
campaign focuses on public facilities, and aims to redesign “comfort rooms” for
all types of users from around the world.
Japan is already world-famous for its high tech Toto washlet toilets—a
delightful self-cleaning unit with heated seats, dryers, and deodorizers. But
the government’s challenge in preparation for the Olympics is to rethink the
entire experience—from mitigating lines in bathrooms to standardizing
toilet icons.
Tokyo’s Narita airport is the first to be overhauled for the
Olympics, with its “total toilet
makeover” drive. New “designer restrooms” opened at the Narita
International Airport earlier this month, featuring not the singing toilets,
beeping bidets or sanitary
wipes for smartphones that have awed visitors to Japan in the past,
but rather thoughtfully-considered accessibility features.
Two new bathrooms in Narita’s Terminal 2 include a
voice-guidance system that talks blind users through the space, and a light
alert system to help signal to the deaf in emergencies. There are also
designated double-wide stalls for travelers with service animals. These
pet-friendly units have leash hooks, pet mats and cans for dog waste disposal, Japan
Times reports.
“We decided to equip all bathrooms with universal design and
renovate the toilets as well,” Naoki Ohata, spokesperson for the Narita
Airport. Universal design means eliminating barriers for the most number of
users. Universal
design touches (pdf) in Narita’s airport restrooms include:
Directions for visually impaired
Braille and tactile information panels
Toilet bowls with handrails
Hooks for putting canes and umbrellas
Space for putting belongings
Lowered washbasins
Wider stalls so you can change clothes
Children’s toilet facilities
Wheelchair compatible toilets
Emergency alarms
Ostomate facilities
Beds
Narita has earmarked ¥5 billion ($46 million) to refurbish
the airport’s remaining 148 bathrooms. Japan’s busiest international hub also
announced plans to phase out
traditional washiki squat-toilets in favor of traditional
Western-style units.
Even after the Olympics, these improved facilities will be
vital to Japan’s increasingly infirm population. “Japan is working to make
cities more accessible and livable because the population is aging,” explains
Atsushi Kato chairman of the lavatory research center Japan Toilet Labo
to Japan
Times. “Everyone is trying to create a society where the elderly can enjoy
being outdoors, travel or shop.”
source: https://qz.com/1077828/tokyo-is-upgrading-airport-toilets-with-voice-guides-for-the-blind-and-waiting-areas-for-service-dogs/
by Anne Quito
http://www.thisoldtoilet.com
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