Japan installs see-through public toilets to help with cleanliness

The Tokyo Toilet Project just cut the tape on newly
installed restrooms at two parks in Tokyo’s Shibuya
 neighborhood this month.
(Satoshi Nagare // The Nippon Foundation)

The toilets are only see-through when unoccupied.

Despite appearances, these trans-loocent public toilets aren’t made to be voyeuristic.

The Tokyo Toilet Project just cut the tape on newly installed restrooms at two parks in Tokyo’s Shibuya neighborhood this month. The colored-glass washrooms are cleverly designed to be transparent when unoccupied — so potential users can confirm they’re empty and clean — but turn opaque once the door is locked internally.

“There are two things we worry about when entering a public restroom, especially those located at a park. The first is cleanliness, and the second is whether anyone is inside,” wrote the restroom’s creator, Pritzker prize-winning architect and Tokyo native Shigeru Ban, on the Toilet Project’s website.

By Hannah Frishberg

Full story at Fox News.