- A new public restoration project in Tokyo has resulted in transparent toilets that magically block the view of people once the door is closed.
- The project was started because people do not like today’s public toilets and believe that they are too dark and dirty.
- The transparent toilets also function as light lanterns at night.
Public toilets are known for a number of things, and they are almost all bad. They are typically dirty, smelly, and depending on where they lie, full. There is nothing less than having to use the toilet only to spot a public toilet and then run upstairs to see that it is occupied.
Tokyo is working to solve some of these problems by renovating dozens of public restrooms in the Shibuya district, and they have hired professional architects to put their own spin on things. The result? The first transparent public toilets in the city and they are a bit cooler than you can imagine.
The “Tokyo Toilet Project” is an attempt by the Nippon Foundation to revitalize the frequently used public toilets in Shibuya, and although each location will have its own unique twist, the transparent toilets that appeared near it Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park and Haru-no-Ogawa Community Park definitely get the most attention from passers-by.
As you can see above, the toilets are lined with transparent tinted glass, offering bathroom users an indication of whether they are occupied or not. However, the real trick comes when you close and close the doors.
No one wants to have people watching them while doing their business, and these transparent toilets have a very interesting trick up their sleeves. When you lock the doors, the specialized glass panels become opaque, preventing anyone from slipping inside. When the door is unlocked, the glass becomes transparent again.
“There are two concerns about public restrooms, especially those in parks,” says the Nippon Foundation. ‘The first is whether it’s clean inside, and the second is that no one is secretly waiting in line. Using a new technology, we made the outer walls with glass that is opaque when the lock is closed, so that a person can check inside before entering. At night they light up the parks like a beautiful lantern. ”
The idea here is that because the toilets are transparent when a person leaves, people will leave them just as clean as when they found them. In addition, they are just cool to look at, and the fact that they glow at night should give passers-by added comfort that no one pulls in, waiting for them to mosquito.
Whether the good people of Tokyo will decide that these new and improved toilets are worth using remains to be seen, but I can not imagine why anyone would not want to spend some time in them.
Mike Wehner has reported on technology and video games for the past decade, covering breaking news and trends in VR, wearables, smartphones, and future tech. Most recently, Mike served as Tech Editor at The Daily Dot, and has been featured in USA Today, Time.com, and countless other web and print stores. His love for reporting is second only to his gaming addiction.
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