Black and white vector image of a clean toilet

Tokyo is a city known for being ultramodern and trailblazing. Heck, even the Japanese capital’s restrooms can be cutting edge, reports Tech The Lead.

In search of a public restroom that offers visitors both safety and cleanliness, officials in Tokyo’s Shibuya ward teamed with a local non-profit to create brightly-colored glass restroom stalls that becomes opaque when locked. The two sets of three restroom stalls, each located in a different park, feature fun, pastel-colored glass. The benefit of the restroom being in its transparent state is that those on the outside can see if the restroom stalls are being occupied. When locked, the area surrounding the toilet cannot be viewed from the outside because they glass goes opaque. 

At night, the restroom stalls light up, so those on the outside can tell if they’re being used or not. The idea to make the restrooms different in the day than at night come from their architect, Shigeru Ban.

The neighborhood hopes to eventually make 17 futuristic toilets available with differing characteristics. Each will be unisex and capable of accommodating people of different ages and abilities. To view and learn more about the restrooms, visit https://tokyotoilet.jp/en/.