and removed immediately after leaving the toilet. This also indicates if the toilet is in use. They can be as simple as a pair of rubber slippers, decorated slippers with prints of anime characters for small children, or even animal fur slippers. A frequent faux pas of foreigners is to forget to take off the toilet slippers after a visit to the restroom, and then use these in the non-toilet areas, hence mixing the "clean" and "unclean" areas. Public toilets Public toilets are usually readily available all over Japan, and can be found in department stores, supermarkets, book stores, CD shops, parks, most convenience stores, and in all but the most rural train stations. Some older public toilet buildings lack doors, meaning that men using the urinals are in full view of people walking past. Beginning in the 1990s, there has been a movement to make public toilets cleaner and more hospitable than they had been in the past. The number of public restrooms that have both Western and squat types of toilets is increasing. Many train stations in the Tokyo area and public schools throughout Japan, for example, only have squat toilets. In addition, parks, temples, traditional Japanese restaurants, and older buildings typically only have squat toilets. Western-style toilets are usually indicated by the kanji characters 洋式 (yōshiki), the English words "Western-style", a symbol for the type of toilet, or any combination of the three. Handicapped bathrooms are always Western style. Many public toilets do not have soap for washing hands, or towels for drying hands. Many people carry a handkerchief with them for such occasions, and some even carry soap. Some public toilets are fitted with powerful hand dryers to reduce the volume of waste generated from paper towels. Hand dryers and taps are sometimes installed with motion-sensors as an additional resource-saving measure. In a project launched by the Nippon Foundation, 16 well-known architects were asked to renovate 17 public toilets located in the public parks of Shibuya, Tokyo. Shigeru Ban designed restrooms that are surrounded by transparent tinted glass, which allows a person to evaluate the interior before entering. In August 2020, these restrooms were installed in Haru-no-Ogawa Community Park and the Yoyogi Fukamachi Mini Park. Cultural aspects In the often-crowded living conditions of Japanese cities and with the lack of rooms that can be locked from inside in a traditional Japanese house, the toilet is one