Thursday Salute to Originals: Public Restrooms in Japan

Here in Cleveland, and the majority of the United States, it’s pretty hard to find public restroom stops… let alone public restrooms featuring extraordinary designs! If you’re looking for this type of convenience, you’re just going to have to travel to Okinawa, Japan.

But it’s not really that surprising that Japan has cool public restrooms, is it? It seems the Japanese culture is brimming with design and innovation! We really see the creativity come to life with this series of restroom photos taken by photographer Okinawa Soba, AKA ‘Rob’, over the past six years.

Can you imagine? Every time you step in to use the bathroom, you’re entering the mouth of a fish, the juiciest slice of an orange, or a wooden shelter! You don’t even have to be somewhere special to encounter one of these masterpieces; you could simply be taking a stroll in a park, or walking to a cafe to grab a bite.

This Thursday, we’re saluting Rob for documenting what a little slice of life is like in Okinawa, and of course, the strangely cool designs for each public bathroom captured. The restroom vignettes inspire us to continue to be innovative in our own designs, celebrating the unexpected.

Sources: Okinawa Soba, This is Colossal