Public toilets arc known for a number of things, and they're almost all bad — dark, dirty, smelly, scary, and depending on where they're located, crowded. There's nothing worse than needing to use the restroom only to catch sight of a public toilet and then walk up to see that it s occupied (占用).However, the first transparent (透明的)public toilets in Tokyo arc way cooler than you can imagine.
Designed by Shigeru Ban Architects, a Pritzker Prize-winning architecture company, the two new sets of transparent toilets have been built in two Shibuya parks in Tokyo. The toilets are lined with transparent glass. When not in use, the three stylish units are almost completely see-through, with purple glass for men and pink for women, as well as a yellow unit (br changing babies. The real trick, however, comes when you enter and lock the doors.
Nobody wants to have people watching them while lhey're doing their business. When you lock the doors, the glass panels turn opaque to provide privacy. When the door is unlocked, the glass becomes transparent once again.
"This allows users to check the cleanliness and whether anyone is using the toilet from the outside says a statement on the project's official website, Tokyotoilet.jp. At night, the toilets lights up the park like a beautiful lantern "
It remains to be seen whether people in Tokyo will decide that these new and improved restrooms arc worthy of use, but I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to spend some time in them.