haha I hope no one is using the transparent kind as a parasol. As I understand it, they are transparent so that in a rain storm when the wind is blowing strongly and you are holding the umbrella in front of you to block the rain blowing in your face, you can still see where you are going by just looking through the umbrella.

The problem, however, is the only transparent umbrella are the cheap ¥100 kind and they break as soon as a light wind hits them... Still — it's the thought that counts, I suppose.