Lav & Flowers
Chiba, Japan
In remote Ichihara countryside, there is an unusual public toilet with its own enclosed garden. The outhouse is constructed entirely of glass— like Wonder Woman’s invisible jet— so you feel like you’re doing your most private business out in the open. The garden itself is a modest affair, neatly kept and enclosed by a log fence with a door that can be locked, thus creating a private stall of 200-sq.-meters.
Designed by architect Sou Fujimoto, the space plays with contrasts: public and private, open and enclosed, natural and man-made, blah blah. Let's leave it to the experts to parse, as we won’t dwell on these concepts here. It’s been covered before with a heavy focus on novelty, and the response has largely been to praise the “loo with a view” as a thing of beauty or dismiss it as a ridiculous waste of time. Mostly, I just like the idea that it’s there, out in the middle of nowhere.
The choice of Itabu, a bucolic but unremarkable patch of the countryside, isn't immediately obvious. The landscape is said to be scenic during springtime when sakura are in bloom. But nothing lasts forever, and in the November rain Ichihara takes a turn for the gloomy.
The toilet sits 10 paces from a stop along the Kominato Railway Line. To get there by train, you'd want to budget an unhurried three hours from central Tokyo. The highlight of the journey is the final segment from Goi to Itabu, which takes you aboard a vintage train. This affords plenty of time for quiet reflection (or the duration of one Miss Marple audiobook) as you travel along Chiba's western coast.
From inside the glass outhouse, the space is immaculate and smells of floral air freshener. It is stocked with the necessities and even has a mirror for a bathroom selfie. The remote location and sparsity of other attractions all but guarantee no queueing for the ladies' room. And with 40-or-so minutes before the train returns for Goi, you can take your sweet time, pay your taxes*, snap a few photos and even read the newspaper.
*A euphemism I’ve only heard my grandpa use. On occasions when I’d find the bathroom occupied, from the other side of the door I’d hear him say, “Please wait a moment, I’m paying taxes now!”
