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  • This time Joseph and I are in Kodaira City, Tokyo

  • for an adventure that will take us to the depths of the city

  • The museum of sewage, or Fureai Gesuido Kan

  • Previously, Joseph and I visited the ToTo Toilet museum in Shinjuku

  • to see the technology that goes into the front end

  • of Tokyo's sewage

  • Comfort, style and amazing tech features are

  • all part of the amazing Japanese toilet experience.

  • Now, it's time to see the back end of that.

  • and we've come here for the rear view of it.

  • Get ready to dive in deep

  • Th museum is open from 9 am to 5pm and it's free.

  • and amazingly clean

  • well, for a sewage museum.

  • Most of it is underground

  • I changed into something more comfortable

  • and met Joseph 3 floors down

  • -So this is the museum of... -sewage

  • Sewage?

  • Oh my god, yuck

  • You always bring me to the greatest places

  • I mean, this is why you're wearing this?

  • Of course, I knew I was coming to the

  • Tokyo Museum of Sewage

  • But don't worry, you don't have to dress up like me,

  • or wear a helmet and such

  • you can come as you are, which is a great thing

  • about this experience

  • You know last time I seem to remember

  • you took me to a toilet museum, right?

  • After you flush, you don't really think where it goes

  • so this is the logical next step

  • The next step

  • This is the evolution in the toilet experience

  • Wow, I don't know how I got involved in this.

  • But you're going to have alot of fun.

  • Trust me buddy, come on!

  • There's a lot to see

  • A lot to see, but this guy probably wants a little more privacy

  • On this floor, there are a lot of technical details,

  • like flow patterns

  • Pipe repair

  • and history

  • Life was real harder without sewers in Tokyo

  • There was even a human fesis removal, or poop boat

  • to transfer it out for fertilizer, for somewhere else

  • If you've never been to a sewage museum before,

  • you probably want to know about the concept

  • and Izumi san is here to fill us in.

  • You can have a lot of fun here

  • It's part of fun what goes on down there.

  • Izumi san showed us a lot of data

  • like high points in the flow When people use the water the most,

  • in the morning and evenings

  • After this, we were ready to enter the main sewage pipe

  • The door is open to visitors in museum hours

  • It's like being in a submarine

  • Open, to a whole new world

  • and it stinks

  • This is the main sewage pipe for Kodaira City

  • Low flowing right now

  • There are a few rules in here.

  • I think jumping the fence won't be a problem.

  • The main sewage pipes were warmer than the other rooms

  • abuot 20 degrees celcius

  • With the door open, a lot of wind enters from outside

  • The moisture inside makes your breath steam out

  • This bridge over the pipe is one of a kind in Japan

  • and maybe the whole world

  • It felt like being in a cave at a waterfall.

  • Just not the kind of water you want to go swimming in

  • I'm sort of shocked that a place like this even exists

  • It's pretty insane that

  • that they had an idea 20years ago to put a viewing platform

  • in middle of a sewer

  • Yeah, and we're inside a pipe which is massive

  • Its crazy. It's like 4.5m wide,

  • and this is carrying about water from 50,000 people,

  • and I must say,

  • I thought it was going to be smelly but..

  • I mean it's really smelly

  • It's not as bad as I thought it would be.

  • Maybe it's because it's mixed with a lot of rain water,

  • They say you get used to your own scent

  • but this is a scent of 50,000 people.

  • I'm not sure I can get used to this.

  • but one thing that is reassuring is that

  • they have different types of sensors to detect different gases

  • so that we won't pass out due to poisoning or something

  • The sound

  • It sounds like it's coming from over there and

  • there must be a rapid or something

  • I think there is a big pipe emptying into this pipe and

  • It's kind of like a waterfall

  • that's what we can hear up here, but down here,

  • I mean it's really calm

  • you can happily float on a rubber dingy.

  • 10 kms down here

  • Maybe that's the next attraction they can add to this

  • theme park

  • A boat ride

  • This is one of the processing plant

  • But I do really think it's great they have a place like this.

  • because it allows not just kids, but people like us

  • have a chance to see that there is life after a flush

  • yeah exactly

  • Normally you flush and it's gone but

  • no, there is a subtrainion world, and places like this

  • just everywhere. It's incredible.

  • The color of the water is not flattering, is it?

  • It hasn't been processed at all,

  • it's litterly as it comes out of the toilet, as off the street

  • as the bathtubs..

  • It's all mixed so we're not seeing big pieces of toilet paper,

  • or anything else you might expect because

  • it's already kind of broken down

  • through the rapids back there and stuff

  • so this is an authentic experience

  • Tokyo was hit with a sudden rain storm a few years ago

  • a lot of rain in a brief period of time

  • The result was felt in a few minutes in the main sewage pipe

  • Water flowing very fast, and level raising beyond the norm

  • It was a surreal scene

  • that could've been dangerous with the opening in the pipe

  • The camera inside the pipe recorded water near capacity.

  • but lowered a couple of hours after the storm moved away

  • from the area

  • The museum sewage also has a classroom

  • where you can see it all at a microscopic level

  • This is raw sewage from the pipe

  • and what we're looking at

  • The sewage is teaming with life

  • the kind that you don't want to get to know.

  • It's all very disgusting

  • but absolutely fascinating

  • I simply could not look away

  • A sewage safari

  • and we had an amazing pair of binoculars.

  • There is a chart for the micro orgnisms.

  • It reminded me of monsters,

  • so they created a Anime version of them, of course

  • to make it easier to sleep at night

  • It was an amazing day

  • one that Joseph and I will never forget

  • Boy that was quite an experience, wasn't it?

  • It was! It was more exciting than I thought it would be

  • Seeing with all that water level and data, I loved that.

  • Yeah, I liked the minute details

  • So every time we flush now,

  • we have a greater appreciation for.

  • Absolutely. It's like there is a museum

  • that caters for whatever your interest is

  • Tokyo is crazy

  • and flushing the toilet for me, is never going to be the same again

  • Speaking of which, I got to use the restroom

  • I know a really good one

  • If you're in Tokyo,

  • you pass through the unforgettable museum of sewage

  • in Kodaira City

  • It stinks

This time Joseph and I are in Kodaira City, Tokyo

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