Tourism Kitano Tenmangu Shrine opens 200 million yen 'tourist toilets'

A new tourist restroom facility, priced at around 200 million yen (roughly $1.28 million), has opened at Kitano Tenmangū Shrine. The project used locally sourced Kitayama cedar and hinoki cypress, sourced within the city and applied throughout the universal design structure. Among the city's recent restroom projects aimed at visitors, it stands out as the most costly.

The building, covering about 150 square metres, is located beside the shrine's plum garden and features pictogram signage made by local craftsmen. Inside, the facility includes 24 toilets, with spacious multipurpose restrooms designed to accommodate wheelchair users. It is open daily from 6.30 a.m. to 11.30 p.m.

These are the 57th tourist restrooms to be installed in Kyoto, with the city using revenue from its lodging tax to cover part of the renovation and maintenance costs. The shrine will close the nearby Imadegawa Onmae Nishi public toilets, measuring about 8 square meters, due to their becoming decrepit. Kyoto Mayor Koji Matsui and chief priest Shigetoku Tachibana were among officials who cut the ribbon at the facility's opening ceremony on Dec. 10, with Matsui commenting, "We've received the best possible restrooms made with Kitayama wood, making them quintessentially Kyoto."

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北野天満宮梅苑南観光トイレ開所式及び今出川御前西公衆トイレ撤去工事一式の寄付受納に係る篤志者表彰式の開催

I'd live in that!