Located off Sannen-Zaka in-between Maruyama Park and the infamous Kiyomizu Temple, this restroom is hidden in the center of an open-air complex of stores and restaurants in the beautiful and historic Gion district of Kyoto. A narrow corridor at best, the facilities were quite small and there was a 10-minute line to use the women’s room.

Though nicely ornamented with beautiful woodwork and clean, sleek porcelain, there were no toilets in the men’s room. Like many Japanese restrooms, there are no hand-drying apparatuses, though saika towels are for sale on the street not more than 50 feet away. To avoid embarrassment, be sure you know the kanji characters for men and women as the sign’s are not in English.