Toilet queues no more? Japan launches QR codes to locate nearest vacant restrooms
Japan’s Toto, known for its water-spraying, musical toilets, is revolutionising the industry once again – this time with a QR code system
Japanese toilet giant Toto has launched a service allowing those caught short in public to locate the nearest washrooms and see how busy they are in real time with a phone and QR code.
Japan, like other countries, struggles with managing long queues outside public toilets, particularly for women, in its teeming train stations and other places.
The system launched this month by Toto – famous for its water-spraying, musical toilets – links consumers up with existing internet-connected facility management systems.
This was developed to automatically notify facility staff if a particular cubicle is dirty or occupied for an unusually long time. Now users can scan a QR code with their phones to access a website showing restroom locations and live congestion levels.