Two parks in Tokyo have installed transparent public toilets so users can inspect their cleanliness before using them. The restrooms use “smart glass” which turns opaque when the stalls are locked.

The bathrooms have been installed in two of the city’s parks so far: the Haru-no-Ogawa Community Park and the Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park.

The installations are part of The Tokyo Toilet project, which is redesigning 17 of the city’s public bathrooms with different designers.

According to the designer Shigeru Ban:

“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. Using the latest technology, the exterior glass turns opaque when locked. This allows users to check the cleanliness and whether anyone is using the toilet from the outside. At night, the facility lights up the park like a beautiful lantern.”

This is the kind of thing that would only work in Japan. Have you seen the public bathrooms in the United States? You install transparent bathrooms here and the only thing you’ll be doing is showing people poop-covered walls and floors so dirty even cockroaches give pause before entering.

Keep going for some more pictures and what the restrooms look like lit up at night.

Source: Geekologie – Tokyo installed see-through public toilets in a park to let people inspect their cleanliness before using them