You can tell a lot about a place by the quality of its public toilets. I don't know about you, but if I'm at a restaurant and the toilets are filthy, I automatically assume that the kitchen is at least as filthy.

And so what does it say about Japan that it decided to hire the country's leading architects to design 17 new public toilets in Tokyo?

I first wrote about "The Tokyo Toilet" back in the summer of 2021. But now that the majority of them have been constructed, I figured it was time to revisit the project.

The two toilets designed by Shigeru Ban are particularly noteworthy in that they are clear glass boxes that become automatically opaque when in use. This was done so you can see if there's anyone lurking inside.

I also love this one by Kazoo Sato.

But of course, all of them are remarkable and all of them are probably better than the general level of public architecture that you'll find in most other cities.

One of the biggest challenges with living through this pandemic has been finding a good public toilet. Drinking in the park is all fine and dandy, but at some point you're going to need to find a place to pee. From experience, I can tell you that this can be a challenge in places like Toronto and Vancouver. But from the looks of it, the situation is a bit different in Tokyo. Japan, apparently, views its toilets as a symbol of its world-renowned hospitality culture. And so it takes great pride in the design of its public toilets. Last year, Tokyo invited 16 creators from around the world to redesign 17 of its public toilets throughout Shibuya. The list of creators includes big names like Tadao Ando, Kengo Kuma, Shigeru Ban, Toyo Ito, and many others. And the result is probably the nicest collection of public toilets that you have ever seen (somewhere around 9 of them are already operational with the balance expected to open sometime this year). The uniforms worn by the maintenance staff were even designed by Nigo (creator of the fashion brand A Bathine Ape). That's attention to detail.

For more about The Tokyo Toilet project and to check out the completed toilets, click here.

Image: The Tokyo Toilet