First, Japan gave the world hi-tech lavatories. Now, a crystal lavatory – studded with more than 72,000 pieces of Swarovski cut crystal and valued at over $100,000 (￡64,000).
lavatory: 厕所;盥洗室
Lavatory manufacturer INAX teamed up with the Austrian jeweller to create the ornate fixture, which is on display in a showroom in the poshGinza shopping district, an effort to draw more customers in a year fraught with economic gloom and natural disaster.
team up with: 与…合作;与…协作
ornate: 华丽的;绚丽的
posh: 时髦地;漂亮的;奢侈的
fraught with: 充满;带有;预示着(危险、恶兆等)
In a nod to traditional belief, the sparklinglavatory was created to please the "god of lavatories," said Kazuo Sumimiya, director of the showroom for the Lixil interior fixture company of which INAX is a part.
in a nod to: 作为感谢、致敬或表示尊重
"In Japan, we believe a deity exists in the lavatory. That's why keeping lavatories clean and taking good care of it have been a Japanese custom since long ago," he added.
deity: 神
"If we were to sell it, it would probably be worth around 10 million yen ($130,000)."
Visitors admired the dazzling fixture, with one woman saying she'd like to invite her friends and hold a party around it.
But others said it might be a bit too exaltedto be useful.
"It'd be hard. I don't think I'd feel comfortable enough to use it even if I had this at home," said 22-year-old Chikako Kawanami, an art museum receptionist.
The lavatory will be on display until the end of December.
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