Transparent Public Restroom Appears in Tokyo Downtown Area

When the door is locked, the exterior wall becomes opaque
Renovated as a public restroom recognition improvement project
Designed by famous architect Ban Shigeru

Transparent restroom installed in a park in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Photo by Tokyo Toilet Project website capture.

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Bong-ju] Recently, public restrooms installed in two parks in the Shibuya area of Tokyo, Japan, have become a hot topic.

On the 18th (local time), the US CNN broadcast reported that transparent restrooms were recently installed in two parks in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.

These restrooms have transparent exterior walls, allowing the toilets and sinks inside to be clearly visible from the outside.

In particular, when the restroom is vacant, the glass remains transparent, but when the door is locked from the inside, the walls become opaque.

At night, the interior lighting turns on, making the entire restroom brightly illuminated.

These restrooms were installed as part of the "Tokyo Toilet Project," planned by the public interest incorporated foundation Japan Foundation to improve the perception of public restrooms.

Sixteen architects participated in this project, and the transparent restroom design was handled by Shigeru Ban, who won the Pritzker Prize, known as the Nobel Prize of architecture.

On the restroom project homepage, he explained, "There are two major concerns when entering a public restroom, especially those in parks: first is cleanliness, and second is whether someone else is inside."

He added, "Thanks to the exterior walls that become opaque only when the restroom is in use, people can check from outside how clean the restroom is and whether another user is inside."

Meanwhile, the Japan Foundation plans to renovate a total of 17 public restrooms in Shibuya Ward in this way by next spring in cooperation with the ward office.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.