The unique architecture of a series of public toilets in Japan.

In August 2020, the "Tokyo Toilet" project garnered significant attention with the appearance of two transparent toilets. Since then, other public toilets have sprung up throughout the Shibuya area of ​​Tokyo. They are expected to become a tourist destination rather than simply serving the "relief" needs of locals and tourists.

Transparent toilet

These unique restrooms, located in Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park and Haru-no-Ogawa Community Park, feature tinted glass walls that allow onlookers to easily check if the restroom is occupied. The quality of the glass also reflects the cleanliness of the restroom. To ensure privacy, the glass walls become opaque after someone enters and locks the door.

"Forest Entrance" Toilet

Kuma Kengo is famous for creating the impressive wooden dome at Tokyo Stadium. His design for the restrooms at Nabeshima Shoutou Park also reflects his unique style, featuring stacked wooden blocks. This restroom area, known as the "forest path," is made of cedar wood and is a favorite among children. The wooden beams may look chaotic, but Kengo has carefully calculated their placement. Inside the restrooms, recycled wood blocks are used for decoration.

Spherical toilet

Designer Kazoo Sato has created a public restroom that uses voice commands to control functions including opening/closing the door, flushing the toilet, and turning the ambient music on/off. According to the architect, the design was created to overcome the traditional perception of public restrooms as dark, smelly, and frightening. Additionally, the spherical architecture increases airflow inside, improving the efficiency of the ventilation system.

White-themed toilet

Graphic designer Kashiwa Sato has designed a public restroom enclosed in white aluminum louvers at the west exit of Ebisu Station in central Tokyo, Japan. The louvers are spaced approximately 2 cm apart to form a wall. This wall encloses a light-filled corridor that runs in a U-shape around a rectangular block with entrances at each end. Inside the block are five unisex toilet stalls.

Mushroom-shaped toilet

Ito Toyo, a Pritzker Prize winner in architecture, created restrooms resembling three mushrooms sprouting from the forest of Yoyogi Hachiman Shrine. Each restroom is equipped with modern amenities. The Japanese architect divided his design into three cylindrical blocks with protruding domes. He aimed to create a tranquil, friendly environment to encourage people to use the public restrooms.

Triangular toilet

Japanese designer Nao Tamura built a red public restroom complex on a triangular plot of land in Shibuya district, central Tokyo. The triangular complex is divided into three sections: one for people with disabilities, one for women, and one for men. All three are aligned to form one side of the triangle. All three toilets are encased in bright red metal. Tamura chose this color to make it easily visible to visitors and to create a sense of urgency.

The toilet of the future

Architect Ando Takao built this circular restroom in Jingu-Dori Park. Surrounded by cherry trees in a small park about a five-minute walk from Shibuya Station, Ando designed the restroom's shape to be a highlight of the park.

The circular toilet block, comprising separate men's and women's stalls, is enclosed within a wall made of vertical metal panels. This wall provides privacy and a slight incline for air circulation. The entire structure is covered by a sloping roof that extends over the toilets to provide shelter from rain when needed.

Anh Thi