Travelers know best that visiting new cities and experiencing new things in life is the most beautiful thing a person can do with his/her free time, but the trips are not always as they seem in the Instagram photos of the adventurers – perfect. It takes a lot of energy and planning to organize a good trip and yet you’re never sure what can come up, so unfortunately you can’t be completely prepared for anything.
Just imagine, starting the day at a city you’re visiting for the first time, your enthusiasm seems like it’s going to explode, you can’t stop capturing every moment and sight with your camera, people rushing off with their daily activities and suddenly the magic stops and you realize that you have to visit – the toilet!
Oh no, it’s toilet time already? If you have traveled before, you are probably already familiar with the struggle of putting your sight-seeing tour on hold and focusing on finding the closest public toilet in order to get rid of something extra you’ve been holding for some time up until that very moment. But searching for a toilet in a city you’re not familiar with, followed by a language you probably don’t speak and people you don’t know can be a hard thing to do and that’s what every traveler knows very well.
Well this article might not exactly help you solve this common problem, but it will definitely give you a new perspective of searching for a toilet when you’re visiting a new city. How come? Let us present you the coolest unusual public toilets in the world:
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Giant Cake toilet in Oita, Japan
You walk down the street and encounter a big and deliciously looking cake, which obviously is not for eating but what you might not have seen coming is that the giant dessert is not just an art installation, but it’s also a public toilet. This creation is a project done by artists participating in what you’ve probably haven’t known existed – Oita Toilennale, an entire art festival dedicated to public toilets. Oh yes you’ve read it right! Since recently, Oita is the host of a ridiculously interesting festival that’s connecting art and the public toilets in order to present a new experience for those feeling the urgent wish to relieve themselves. The toilet is actually called the “Melting Dream” and according to the artists, it actually has a really serious message: it is inspired by the Fukushima nuclear accident that happed a few years ago and the toilet tells the story that, just like Japan, even though the toilet looks sweet and attractive on the outside, on the inside it is beginning to melt down.
photo by Yasunori Takeuchi, courtesy Toilennale
Matakana toilets in Auckland, New Zealand
Despite of its functionality being a public toilet, this sculpture points out the surrealism and is connected to some local historical events of Auckland. The Matakana toilets officially opened to the public in 2009, even though it took a few more years to be finished completely. The architecture of these toilets is quite authentic and the half-faces at the entrance will make you feel like you’re entering a museum and not a public toilet. This sculpture-toilet is a great inspiration for the people of the city, which they required more public toilets such as this one throughout the city.
The Sexiest WC on Earth in Lisbon, Portugal
If you’re ever wandering down the streets of Lisbon and even if you don’t feel like going to the toilet, you must enter what is known to be the Sexiest WC on Earth. For an entrance fee of only one euro you can enter an insanely clean public toilet (something that is rare to find when it comes to public toilets) and the fun inside is guaranteed, as you will come across many sexy photos on the wall and colorful sinks. There is also a huge wall covered with toilet papers in different colors, waiting for you to help yourself out. And probably the best part about this public toilet is that it is located at one of the most popular squares in Lisbon, Parka do Comerica, with a big sign pointing right at it so that you can’t even miss it.
World’s largest public toilet in Chongqing, China
If you haven’t seen the largest public restroom in the world, then you have the right to know that you can find it in the city of Chongqing, where the people flush with pride after they find out they have visited the world’s largest toilet. If you ever get to visit this toilet, don’t be surprised to see the Egyptian facade and many random sculptures, to hear the soothing music and also have the chance to choose between more than 1,000 toilets spread out over 30,000 square feet. The urinals are quite interesting to see, designed so as to look like the heads of a crocodile or Virgin Mary. If you ever have the chance, make sure to visit the public toilet that was included in the Book of World Records.
Photo Credit: Mauricio Horta
See-through toilet in Lausanne, Switzerland
How would you like the idea of using a toilet that is located on one of the busiest places in Lausanne and is transparent? Well okay, not completely transparent, but would you feel comfortable to be using a public toilet that has a one way transparent window, meaning you can see the people outside passing the toilet, but they can’t see you at all? You’re not sure you can do it but at least try using this see-through public restroom in Lausanne. It’s a complete mind game and it gets even funnier when the people outside stop to take a look at themselves in the reflective mirror doors, even though from the inside it seems like they are really staring at you.
UriLift Pop-up in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
It’s always nice to know that you can go to the toilet whenever you feel like it. However, most public toilets in the world close the doors to their visitors sometime before midnight and it’s a problem for those who like to walk at night or drink outside before a party. Since problems like these occur, a Dutch company has come up with a solution to create public toilets that would pop up after 10 pm from the ground and can be used until the next morning. This is a great idea for those poor souls desperately searching for a toilet late at night, even though it might seem weird for someone who is not familiar with this type of UriLift Pop-up toilet to see something strange lifting up from the ground late at night. If you’re ever going to the Netherlands, have in mind not to panic when something is trying to lift up from the ground late at night.
Photo credit: Albin Olsson [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Traveling is an incredibly fun thing to do but can be extremely exhausting sometimes, so keeping in mind where you can go and catch a short break at a public restroom is always a great idea. That is why, it is highly recommended that whenever you travel to a new city you should check at least some places where you can eat, rest and use the toilet. If you are more of an adventurer and don’t like planning these things out, then just make sure not to miss out on these incredibly cool public restrooms in case you’re visiting the cities mentioned above. In case you have discovered a unique and interesting public restroom yourself, don’t be shy to share it with us.
