The archive · Public & Social · Product decision · 2020–2023
The Tokyo Toilet: 16 architects redesign Shibuya's loos — transparent walls go viral
The Nippon Foundation hired 16 star architects to rebuild 17 Shibuya public toilets; Ban's glass walls turn opaque on lock.
The Nippon Foundation · Shibuya City
What it had to solve
Public toilets in Tokyo are famously clean, but many in Shibuya were avoided as dark, dirty and dangerous, and both tourists and locals skipped them. Ahead of the 2020 Olympics, entrepreneur Kōji Yanai, the Nippon Foundation and Shibuya City decided to remake them as design landmarks rather than plain facilities.
How it works
Public toilets in Japan are famously clean, but in Shibuya many were avoided as dark, dirty and potentially dangerous. Ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, entrepreneur Kōji Yanai (Uniqlo/Fast Retailing), the Nippon Foundation and Shibuya City launched the Tokyo Toilet project: 16 leading architects and creators would redesign 17 public toilets to make them safe and comfortable for everyone regardless of gender, age or disability.
Shigeru Ban's first two toilets, opened in August 2020 in Haru-no-Ogawa Community Park and Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park, were built with transparent glass walls. The electrochromic glass stays clear when the stall is empty and turns opaque once the door locks, answering the two classic fears — is it clean, and is someone hiding inside — while lighting up at night. Later designs included Kengo Kuma's cedar-clad stalls, Toyo Ito's mushroom-shaped pavilions and NIGO's retro shelter.
The project treated maintenance as part of the design: the toilets are cleaned three times a day, checked monthly by toilet consultants, and schoolchildren join cleaning sessions in overalls designed by NIGO. By November 2022, 13 of the 17 toilets were in use; all 17 were completed by 2023.
The toilets went viral worldwide in August 2020 and became attractions that architecture fans tour. The project then inspired Wim Wenders' film Perfect Days (2023) about a Shibuya toilet cleaner; its star Kōji Yakusho won the Best Actor award at Cannes 2023 and the film was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best International Feature.
Why it lands
- The transparent toilet solves the two real objections — cleanliness and safety — with the design itself, so the feature is the message.
- Commissioning 16 celebrity architects turned a municipal facility into a cultural event that generated global press coverage.
- Pairing design with visible maintenance (three cleanings a day, designer overalls) closed the loop that beautiful toilets still get dirty.
- The project's ambition gave it a second life: it became the subject of an award-winning film, extending its reach far beyond Shibuya.
What it did
The transparent toilets set social media abuzz worldwide when they opened in August 2020, and the facilities became tourist attractions in their own right. All 17 were completed by 2023. The project inspired Wim Wenders' feature film Perfect Days (2023), starring Kōji Yakusho as a Shibuya toilet cleaner; Yakusho won Best Actor at Cannes 2023 and the film was shortlisted for the Academy Award for Best International Feature.
What you can take
Public infrastructure can be designed to change perception, not just to function: solve the fear (dirt, danger) with the design itself and the object becomes culture.
Since then
All 17 toilets were completed by 2023, and the project's reputation kept growing: architecture tourists tour the facilities, and Wim Wenders' Perfect Days, inspired by the project, premiered at Cannes 2023, where Kōji Yakusho won Best Actor. The film was shortlisted for the 96th Academy Awards in the Best International Feature category. The Nippon Foundation frames the project as proof that public infrastructure, designed with care, can change how people treat shared space.
Sources
- THE TOKYO TOILET
- These Toilets in Tokyo Have Transparent Walls for a Reason
- Tokyo Toilet Project: More Public Restrooms Designed by Top Creators Pop Up in Shibuya
- Wim Wenders and Yakusho Kōji Take Film to the Toilet with “Perfect Days”
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