From the country that impressed the world by cleaning up after themselves during the FIFA World Cup, comes, unexpectedly, the world’s first Poop Museum. The Unko Museum in Yokohama is a pop-up exhibition that celebrates excrement and fecal matter. Open since mid-March, it deters from displaying anything that actually resembles human waste. Instead, the museum is covered in pastel, cutesy poop figures, sometimes accompanied with anime features.
The interactive entertainment factor is surprisingly high for an exhibition that focuses around the appeal of manure. Rooms have been decorated with excessive amounts of soft serve-shaped dung, with actual thought-out themes like a tea party fit for a princess. The place is filled with “unsta-worthy” photo-ops, so you can dump (pun intended) all your pastel dookie dreams on your Instagram feed. Games have also been fashioned out of the concept of poop; and the Unko Museum is probably the only socially acceptable place for adults to be yelling “Unko!”—which if you haven’t figured out by now, translates literally to ‘shit’. These loud proclamations will lead you to a video game that challenges guests to build the tallest poop figure using their voices. Other games include one that’s soccer-inspired and another Space Invaders-style, poop-catching game; all conceptualised to the theme of poop.
Visitors are also encourage to leave their mark on the wall in the museum dedicated to artistic interpretation of poo. Framed by a plastic toilet seat, your masterpiece will be briefly showcased to other guests before getting wiped away.
Hosted by Yokohama’s Aso Build entertainment facility that opened the same day as the launch of the exhibition, the Unko Museum provides more than just neon poop quotes and backdrops of the entire pastel spectrum. Given Japan’s heavy emphasis on social conduct, the temporary display aims to de-stigmatise a taboo subject and ease the constipation on poop-related discussions, by “cutifying” turds.
Is it just another Instagram trap? Maybe. But it finally validates all your friends who send you selfies on the toilet.
Unko Museum runs until Jul 15 and is located at Aso Build Yokohama. Tickets and more info here.
