From squeaky clean to technologically bizarre, much has been said and written about Japanese public restrooms. And while some of it is hyperbole and sensationalism generated by an overly zealous foreign press, Japan does lead the world in toilet technology. The country also takes great pride in cleanliness and restrooms are one of the first places to begin.

The public restroom has largely been shunned as an architectural subject in the Western world, but in Japan it stands as its own archetype. Spoon & Tamago ha assembled some recent public restroom designs in Japan that have been turning heads for reasons other than an uncontrollable bladder.