If you’re a fan of all things public works, the Tokyo Sewerage Museum “Rainbow” will be right up your alley. This experience-oriented facility is mainly aimed at kids and school groups but will appeal to anyone curious about what lurks beneath the surface of our streets here in Tokyo.
First Stop: Odaiba
Fittingly, the Tokyo Sewerage Museum is located in Odaiba, an artificial island in Tokyo Bay surrounded by water. It’s housed inside the impressive Ariake Water Reclamation Center — one of many eye-catching buildings in the area.
Take the elevator up to the fifth floor and you’ll find yourself in Rainbow Town, “A Town of Visible Sewerage.” Don’t worry, though — there’s nothing nasty on display. Staff just inside the door will greet you and offer you a floor guide. They also have tablet devices available so you can conduct your own self-guided tour. The language can be set to English, Chinese, Korean, or Japanese.
PR for Poop
Tokyo Sewerage Museum “Rainbow” is actually operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s Bureau of Sewerage and is a public relations facility. As such, there is a dedicated mascot on board to help them spread the good word: a happy anthropomorphic globe named “Earth-kun.”
The museum houses reproductions of pipes, a pumping station, and a water reclamation centre to give insight into what happens behind the scenes of Tokyo’s water system. It’s designed to educate and highlight the importance of water and a sewerage system in our modern society.
Exploring the Sewerage Museum
One of the first things you see in the museum is a giant pipe. This is actually a screen that displays your image on it surrounded by water sloshing around. The floor in front of the pipe is an optical illusion showing the underground mechanisms of the sewerage system. In fact, the staff were telling us where to stand and how to pose to make it look funny.
Just behind the massive pipe is the “Ball Circus” – a play space to help kids learn about the flow of the sewerage system and water circulation. They can deposit the balls into the system and get a good visual of how things work.
There is a replica water reclamation centre that features a lab, control room, and pumping site, and seems to be set up for school groups.
Tokyo’s Underground
At the back of the room is a very cool and spooky full-sized sewer pipe tunnel with a “wrapping machine” inside, to show how the pipes are reconstructed. Unfortunately, no photography is allowed, so you’ll have to check it out for yourself. The signage around this area explains how many of Tokyo’s pipes are coming to the end of their 50-year lifespan and outlines the different methods used to reconstruct them.
Next on the tour is The Rainbow Cinema, which has a few short films on deck. Topics range from the importance of water and sewerage to the unsung heroes of the underground: sewer workers. They range from 6 minutes to 18 minutes and are subtitled in English, Korean, Chinese, and Japanese.
Finally, “Earth-kun’s House” is a faux apartment setting with see-through panels on the floor so you can see what happens when you run the taps and flush the toilet. Don’t get the wrong idea; the toilet is in the open and actual use is not encouraged. This room also houses books and videos on the subject of sewerage and again has a school group activity feel to it.
While it may not be the most glamorous museum out there, the Tokyo Sewerage Museum “Rainbow” certainly has its place, just like the sewerage system itself.
How to get there
It’s an eight-minute walk from Odaiba-kaihinkoen Station on the Yurikamome Line or a twelve-minute walk from Kokusai-tenjijo Station on the Rinkai Line.
Name: Tokyo Sewerage Museum “Rainbow”
Address: Level 5, 2 Chome-3-5 Ariake, Koto City, Tokyo 135-0063 (link)
Open: 9:30am – 4:30pm (closed Mondays and over the New Year holiday)
Admission: Free
Website: https://www.nijinogesuidoukan.jp/en/
Post by Japan Journeys.
