Toshogu Lantern Area

Toshogu Lantern Area

Nikko, Japan

Reviewed May 24th, 2004

Tucked away along a little dirt path among the amazing shrine and temple complex at Toshogu (dedicated to Tokugawa Ieyasu, a powerful Japanese shogun), I was fooled into thinking I was about to visit a sacred shrine. Instead the path abruptly ended and was punctuated by a ragged little restroom building that was barely lucky enough to have plumbing. I was taken aback to find this architectual blunder among some of Japan's most impressive buildings.

While the women's side had a locking door, all that was inside was a single dirty squat toilet. The men's side was sans-door (by design apparently) and contained only a urinal. A single sink was mounted on the outside wall.

The only saving points were the cute silhouette men/women icons nailed on the front and the novel bamboo divider separating the two sides.

If you really need to go, might I recommend skipping this one and using the much larger modern facilities a very short walk away just before the ticket booth to the Futura-San Shrine.

RESTROOM RATING: 2
Send this review to a friend