Toilet tourism
the transparent toilet
On the morning of Friday, April 5th, I visited Yoyogi Park in Shibuya Ward. The weather was poor. Rain during the night, cloudy, grey skies, damp ground and cool temperatures in the daytime. People are dressed warmly. But many people are out, especially office workers who have been assigned the special task of going to the park early, laying out groundsheets, and staking a spot for the office cherry blossom viewing picnic.
I didn’t go to the park for the blossoms. I went to visit the Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park at Yoyogi-koen Station on the Tokyo Metro Chiyoda Line, across the street from Yoyogi Park’s West Gate. That small park is the site of a public toilet with transparent walls, installed in 2020.
There are different kinds of tourism: Ecotourism, Olympic Tourism, Eclipse Tourism, etc. This is Toilet Tourism, going around Tokyo specifically to hunt down unique public toilets.
This public toilet in the park, has transparent walls when not in use. The idea is that for safety reasons, people can see clearly into the structure and be sure that no predator is lurking inside. I remember that’s how it was described in the press when it was unveiled. When the doors are locked, the walls turn opaque for privacy.
At first, I suspected the transparency function might have been disabled (maybe due to public discomfort), because I stood there for many minutes while the structure was unoccupied, and the walls were opaque the whole time. They never turned transparent. Maybe I should have waited longer. Or, maybe I should return in the evening to see it in different light.
Later, I learned that the transparency function has been disabled from mid-October to mid-May. I don't know why. So, I should return after mid-May if I want to see the transparent toilet.
I will, because I do.