日本新景點 高速公路服務區的高科技廁所

The kids are hungry, the driver has a headache and everyone has to go to the bathroom. If you’re traveling by car on a holiday weekend, the last thing you want to find at a roadside rest stop is a long line for a toilet.

孩子們餓了，開車的人頭痛，所有人都得上衛生間。如果是在週末假期駕車出行，你最不願在路邊的休息區看到的就是等着上廁所的長隊。

Companies that run major highway service plazas in Japan go to considerable lengths to ensure you never will, as they compete for the coveted Japan Toilet Award from the transportation ministry.

在爭奪交通省頒發的令人夢寐以求的日本廁所獎(Japan Toilet Award)時，日本主要高速服務區的經營公司爲確保民衆永遠不會遇到這種情況而不遺餘力。

Nexco Central Nippon Expressway, which runs 200 of the rest stops, promises that patrons should never have to wait More than two minutes to use the lavatory. The company’s award-winning Neopasa Shimizu stop, one of several near Shizuoka City, about 15 miles from Mount Fuji, shows how.

經營着200個服務區的中日本高速公路株式會社(Nexco Central Nippon Expressway)承諾，顧客等待如廁的時間絕不會超過兩分鐘。公司旗下獲得上述獎項的新東名高速道路清水(Neopasa Shimizu)服務區向外界展示瞭如何做到這一點。該服務區是靜岡市附近的幾個服務區中的其中一家，距富士山約15英里（約合24公里）。

To keep things moving at Neopasa Shimizu, where 25,000 people may stop on a busy weekend, there are 72 stalls in the ladies’ room, compared with 14 stalls and 32 urinals in the men’s — a ratio meant to combat the longer waits that women often encounter in public facilities.

在繁忙的週末，大概有2.5萬人在該服務區停歇。爲了讓人員流動起來，服務區的女廁設有72個小隔間。而相比之下，男廁只有14個隔間和32個小便池。這樣的比例是爲了應對女性在公共場所等待如廁的時間通常比男性長這種情況。

Technology is put to work, too. A sensor in each stall detects whether it is in use, and relays that information to a large monitor screen mounted outside the restroom. Small icons even indicate whether the available toilets are the Western sitting style or the traditional Japanese squatting style.

該服務區也使用了科技手段。每個隔間都配備了傳感器，它會檢測是否有人使用相應的隔間，並將信息傳輸至安裝在廁所外面的大監視屏上。甚至還有小圖標顯示空着的是西式坐廁，還是傳統的日式蹲廁。

Of course, those who find these elaborate status panels too confusing can always just walk up and down the stalls, looking for an unlocked door.

當然，覺得這些精密的使用狀態顯示板太令人費解的人，隨時可以在隔間前來回走動，尋找哪個門沒鎖上。