Surely, dirty public restrooms are not a surprise and people have pretty much accept it as a norm. Not in Japan, though. Japan is determined to flush away the notion of public restrooms are dirty.
To prove the point, the local government in Tokyo had two transparent restrooms built. You heard that right. Transparent restrooms. Don’t worry. You won’t be doing your ‘business’ in plain view, however.
The transparent restrooms will turn opaque once the door is locked. Kind of like the technology use on some trains to keep passengers from peering into apartments that are too close to a train track.
Now that we have said that… I probably will not use the transparent restrooms. Perhaps for peeing, yes, but definitely not for dropping the kids at the pool.
If you have traveled on a train with windows that turn opaque, you will know that it sometimes fail to work. The last thing you want is the bathroom suddenly turned transparent when your ‘business’ is in full progression. But hey, that’s just me. I am not stopping you from using it.
Transparent restrooms are in operation now at two parks in Tokyo, Japan, and they are part of a project to renovate 17 public washrooms in Shibuya.
Apparently, there is a stereotype going on with Japanese residents that public restrooms are dirty, smelly and “scary”.
I don’t have many experience with Japanese public toilets, but I didn’t it was that bad. Well, except for the one traumatizing experience at a public bathroom near the old Tsukiji Fish Market. That was an experience that wish it didn’t happen. It was that bad. But it was just that one time at the one place.
Images and source: Rutly/YouTube (SCMP).
