Crowdfunding success shows there’s still room for one more in the crowded Japanese toilet marketplace.

Japan is a country that offers an unparalleled variety of pooping experiences, from its legendary high-tech washlet toilets to the traditional squat style and even rural pit toilets. And yet, Japan’s poopers can still find room in their hearts, and for their butts, to welcome a newcomer.

The above photo may look like a hard plastic case designed to hold a banana, but it’s actually a receptacle to be used at the complete opposite end of the digestive process. The crescent shape actually folds out to reveal…

…a portable toilet, which the designers say is perfect for outdoor activities like camping and music festivals, long car rides, post-natural disaster recovery periods, or child potty training. Weighing just 320 grams (11.3 ounces), the Banana Potty is compact and light enough to easily carry in a day bag.

Of course, some of you are no doubt ready to point out that in the configuration shown above, it’s not so much a toilet as a target, since any waste you pass is just going to pass right through that hoop like the world’s grossest circus act. However, the Banana Potty, as the item is called, is meant to be outfitted with a biodegradable waste-catching bad, which can clipped underneath the seat or wrapped on top of it.

▼ Bag or not, we still hope someone wiped that thing off before that kid stuck it on his face.

Developed by Korean manufacturer Juju, the Banana Toilet is already commercially available in Korea and some parts of Europe. The company decided to test the waters of the Japanese market with a crowdfunding project on website Makuake, where it exceeded its modest goal of 50,000 yen (US$450) as backers enthusiastically dumped over 1.3 million yen on it.

▼ Various cute color combinations were offered, though pink/blue is oddly absent.

The crowdfunding project has since come to an end, but given the tremendous response, we might see the Banana Potty hit the regular Japanese retail market in the future, giving the country one more option in how to poop.

Source, images: Makuake
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