TOTO Museum
TOTO Museum in Kitakyushu is dedicated to the history of the toilet, and housed in a stylish and futuristic looking building.
TOTO Museum, Kitakyushu, TOTO ミュージアム
TOTO Museum, Kitakyushu, Kyushu
Looking like a modern art gallery, in the foyer of the TOTO Museum are two toilets decorated by Japanese artist Asao Tokoro
Dedicated to the history of the toilet, and housed in a stylish and futuristic looking building, the TOTO Museum opened in 2015 to mark the centenary of the founding of Japan's best known toilet manufacturer.
Designed by Azusa Sekkei, and located at the company's headquarters in Kitakyushu, the 60 million dollar building uses a variety of environmentally friendly and energy saving features. These include rooftop gardens, solar power, natural ventilation and insulation. The museum has a shop selling TOTO souvenirs and also a library.
First floor of the TOTO Museum is a showroom for all TOTO products
The massive entrance foyer to the TOTO Museum on the second floor
Exhibits
Making some of the world's most hi-tech and advanced toilets, the company's flagship product is the Washlet, a toilet featuring bidet and warm-air dry function, as well as a heated seat.
Some models feature self-opening lids, automatic deodorizing and music to mask the natural sounds. The Washlet is well on the way to becoming as well known as the Sony Walkman.
The first floor of the museum complex is a showroom of TOTO products which embrace much more than just toilets, but everything for the bathroom and the kitchen.
The museum proper begins on the second floor and is spacious, light, and looks more like a modern art gallery than a museum dedicated to the humble toilet.
Display of some of the tableware that was made by TOTO until the 1970'sToilet Bike Neo, a three wheel motorbike powered by methane
Novelty Exhibits
There are some novelty displays, like a pair of toilets decorated by a modern artist. However, the the most intriguing is the Toilet Bike Neo, a motorbike powered by methane (animal-derived, not human!) with a TOTO toilet as the seat.
The bike traveled the length of Japan to promote TOTO's environmental credentials. Several exhibits show the inner workings of today's complex modern toilets, including an interactive display.
There are exhibits on the founders of the company, the company's history and so on, but the most interesting are the displays documenting the history of Japanese toilets.
Starting from the squat toilets that can still be found in many places today, up through the first flush toilets and on to today's super hi-tech devices, the displays also cover the history of the toilet seat and urinals.
Built in 1909 for the Crown Prince, Asakasa House had custom designed plumbing fixtures by TOTOA normal toilet, one designed for children, and one for Sumo wrestlers
Another gallery displays products that TOTO has designed for other markets around the world. Finally, of course, you can try out some of these hi-tech toilets as all the public rest rooms in the museum are equipped with the latest in TOTO products.
Overall the museum presents a rather surprisingly entertaining and informative exhibition within a delightful architectural experience.
The inner workings of the world's most hi-tech toiletA model showing the principles of the modern toilet
Details
TOTO Museum (jp.toto.com/museum)
2-Chome-1-1 Nakashima
Kokurakita-ku, Kitakyushu-shi
Fukuoka 802-8601
Tel: 093 951 2534
Hours: open 10 am to 5 pm (Admission by 4.30 pm). Closed Mondays, over the New Year, and in summer vacations. The showroom is closed on Wednesdays unless Wednesday is a national holiday.
Entrance free. Reservations required for groups (of 20 or more and/or in charged buses).
Free Exhibition Information Service
There is some information in English, and you can use your smart phone to scan for instructions in multiple languages. In addition, free audio guide pens are available in English, Korean and Chinese. There are plenty of museum staff around who also speak in several languages, notably English.
Audio guide pen service:
jp.toto.com/museum/en
jp.toto.com/museum/guide
The museum is a 10 minute walk from Kawaraguchi Mihagino Station on the Kitakyushu Monorail from Kokura Station (5 minutes; 210 yen).
Alternatively it is 15 minutes by bus from the south (Kokurajo) exit of Kokura Station (numbers 21, 22, 43 from platform 1 or the 25 from platform 2; 200 yen). Get off at Kifunemachi (貴船町) in front of the museum.
A chronological display of Japanese toilets beginning with the traditional "squat" type still found in many placesA history of the humble toilet seat
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Kitakyushu Access - Getting To Kitakyushu
Air
Kitakyushu Airport is a new airport built on an an artificial island and is unusual in that it operates 24 hours a day. Several airlines run scheduled flights to and from Tokyo Haneda Airport, but Fukuoka Airport is less than 30 minutes away by train and has flights from many more domestic and international airports.
South side of Kokura Station
Train
Kokura Station is the first station of the Sanyo Shinkansen in Kyushu and all trains stop here. It takes less than 5 hours from Tokyo, 3 hours from Nagoya, and a little over 2 hours from Osaka. The newly opened Kyushu Shinkansen connects to Kumamoto in less than an hour and Kagoshima in just over 100 minutes. From Kokura take the Sonic Limited express to Kunisaki, Oita & Beppu. Mojiko is 12-13 minutes by train (280 yen) from Kokura on the Kagoshima Line.
The Sanyo Line runs a fast shuttle to and from Shimonoseki. The Kagoshima Line and the Nippo Line connect to all areas of Kyushu. Within Kitakyushu the Monorail runs about 9km from Kokura Station to Kokura Minami.
Ferry
Kitakyushu is served by several long distance domestic car ferries. A daily ferry from Tokyo stops at Tokushima on Shikoku, There are several ferries from Osaka and one from Kobe, and a direct ferry from Matsuyama on Shikoku. There are also small passenger ferries across the narrow straits to Shimonoseki and also to some smaller nearby islands. There is a high-speed speed ferry to Ulsan in Korea.