Tokyo visitors can now join a special tour of one of the Japanese city's modern wonders: its public toilets. Penelope Panczuk recently went on the Tokyo Toilet Shuttle for a two-hour visit of artistic public bathrooms. Panczuk got the idea after seeing "Perfect Days", the Oscar-nominated film about a toilet cleaner in the city's Shibuya district. In the U.S. or in France where I originally come from, you just don't go, Panczuk said of using public bathrooms. She added that in Tokyo, the bathrooms are "extremely clean, they're very safe and each one is so different it feels like it's a new discovery each time." The shuttle began in March with visitors coming to Japan in record numbers. A drop in the value of the Japanese yen has made it less costly for many lovers of Japanese culture to visit for the first time. Among Japan's most-loved technological exports in recent years are its toilets produced by TOTO. The devices have cleansing sprays, heated seats, music, and more.
