[TOTO Museum] Sightseeing, Travel(Kitakyushu, Fukuoka ,Japan)

Hello! This is Hitapapa.

This time, we will introduce you to the “TOTO Museum” located in Kokurakita Ward, Kitakyushu City, Fukuoka Prefecture!

This is the world-famous Toto Sonomanma Toilet Museum in Kitakyushu !

It is located next to TOTO’s headquarters factory, and both the exterior and interior are stylish and beautiful !

The history of TOTO and the history of toilets are on display in great detail.

There is a toilet with a cross-section diagram so that you can see how it flushes, and when you press the button the water actually flushes, which makes kids very happy ♪

Admission is free, and since it’s an indoor facility, it’s perfect for family outings, especially on rainy days .

Now, let’s take a closer look at the TOTO Museum!

Basic information about the “TOTO Museum”

The exterior of the “TOTO Museum”

Oooooh!!!

As expected from the world famous TOTO!!

The design of the building is so futuristic and stylish!

The rounded shape is lovely.

Am I the only one who thinks it feels a bit like a toilet?

Is it intentionally meant to resemble a toilet?

I’ll ask the staff next time.

The TOTO Museum is located along National Route 3.

There is a free parking lot in front of the TOTO Museum entrance.

If this parking lot in front of the entrance is full, you will be directed to the parking lot of the adjacent factory.

The entrance to the “TOTO Museum”

Oooooh!!

The simple entrance with just a reception desk and nothing else is lovely!

As expected from the world-famous TOTO!

The first floor is the TOTO showroom, and the second floor is the TOTO Museum.

To get to the TOTO Museum, take the escalator or elevator to the second floor.

(You can also freely visit the showroom on the first floor.)

Since we’ve come all the way to the TOTO Museum, let’s take a commemorative photo.

The photo panel is also simple and great!!

From the second floor you can see the beautifully maintained courtyard.

The green stands out against the white buildings.

The souvenir corner has original Toto goods, toilet paper, and Kitakyushu’s specialty screw chocolate.

History of TOTO

As soon as you enter, you will see an exhibition on the history of TOTO.

I had heard that Toto’s predecessor was Toyo Toki, but I didn’t know that Toyo Toki’s predecessor was also the Ceramic Research Institute and Nippon Toki.

History of the Toilet

The main toilets made by TOTO over the years are on display.

The first seated flush toilet made in Japan.

There were no toilet seats in those days, so you had to sit directly on the toilet bowl!

A typical luxury toilet from the early Showa period.

It was used in famous buildings such as the National Diet Building.

Finally, they had toilet seats. And toilet seats were made of wood back then.

It’s finally here!

When you think of TOTO, you think of Washlet!

This is the first Washlet, released in 1980.

I had no idea that washlets have been around for over 40 years.

I’m sorry for this complete digression, but I’m not a fan of washlets.

I don’t like my bottom getting all soggy, so I wipe it clean just with paper.

And when you get in the bath, wash your bottom as carefully as possible!!

Do you use a washlet or not?

History of ”Toyo Toki”

As the company name “Toyo Toki” suggests, they made pottery and tableware at the time.

A wide range of oriental pottery pieces, or rather tableware from across the ages, are on display.

They were all very beautiful and high quality dishes.

By the way, Noritake, famous for its high-end tableware, was separated from Toto’s ceramics division. I didn’t know that. (The man next to me was telling me about it, so I looked it up later.)

Toilet Bike

A bike with an incredibly unique design, with the seat shaped like a toilet!

It looks kind of cool, like a Harley.

Although it may seem like a joke bike, it is actually a very serious bike that actually runs on biogas instead of gasoline.

It is equipped with two 46-liter biogas fuel tanks, allowing it to travel up to 300km without needing to refill gas!

A very eco-friendly bike!

Apparently he actually rode this bike across Japan!

Well, if you look closely it does look pretty cool.

(I rode motorcycles in my teens and twenties, so I’m quite a motorcycle enthusiast.)

The seat is a toilet, so I thought that the bike would run on poop while it was being used as fuel, but I was wrong. Biogas had been stored in the tank beforehand.

(That’s true. Public pooping is impossible.)

And on top of the helmet, I thought there was a soft serve ice cream… but it was poop!! lol

There’s even a mini toilet attached to the handle!!!

There are two fuel tanks on the back of the bike.

There is a huge roll of toilet paper on top of the tank!!

I’m sure this bike will be extremely popular with elementary school boys (lol).

How the toilet flushes

The toilet bowl and tank are modeled after the toilet itself, allowing you to see how the toilet flushes.

When you press the flush button, water will actually gush out.

It was very popular with the kids!!

TOTO’s founder and TOTO’s aspirations

The founder and past presidents of TOTO are presented in black and white photographs as if they were great men (and they probably are).

TOTO’s aspirations are also on display.

If you want to learn about the history of TOTO, be sure to stop by!

History of TOTO Products

Evolution of “trademarks”

I only knew the simple “TOTO” logo, but it turns out there were many different types of logos before 1969!

How the flush toilet works

The toilet is shown in cross section, showing how water flushes.

This is what the inside of the tank and toilet bowl looked like!!

Evolution of the toilet

A Japanese-style toilet from the early Meiji period.

As expected from a company that originally produced pottery, the products have beautiful designs.

A toilet from 1917.

They have become Western-style, and the Japanese-style toilets have changed to the style we see today!

A toilet from 1957.

You don’t see the types on the left and in the middle anymore, but you can often see the one on the far right if you go to older facilities!

Changes in “Water Tanks”

The earliest water tanks were made out of wood!

It has a large water tank attached, making it look more and more modern.

The toilets around here are newer, with the toilet and water tank integrated; there are no longer any large separate water tanks!

This state-of-the-art toilet is a skeleton that you can actually flush!

It’s efficient because it uses a small amount of water all at once.

When you press the water button, water comes pouring out.

The children were delighted and played with it over and over again. Thank you, TOTO.

Evolution of the toilet seat

Amazing! So originally the toilet seat was made of wood!

You can feel the history.

Around here you can see all of TOTO’s proud Washlets!

Surprisingly, the Washlet has a long history, having been around since 1980.

The evolution of urinals

A toilet that’s a work of art!

It seems like something you’d find in a traditional Japanese restaurant.

It seems like all the toilets are in old facilities.

The one on the far left is the sleek type of toilet that you often see these days.

The good thing is that it doesn’t spill easily.

The one on the far right is a urinal with a lid!

I’ve never seen anything like this!

Evolution of the bathtub

The main bathtub styles from throughout history are on display.

In the early days, it was just “soaking,” but over time it changed to “soaking leisurely” and “relaxing.”

Nostalgic!

In the past, bathtubs used to be shaped like this, with a vertical drop!

I remember the difficult process of adjusting the temperature of the water by turning both the hot and cold water.

Odd shaped toilet

Bidets that you might find in hotels overseas, or the rather rare Japanese-style seated toilet.

The toilet on the left is actually a women’s standing urinal!

You might be wondering how women relieve themselves, but it turns out they relieve themselves by facing their bottom towards the toilet bowl, in the opposite direction to how men do.

Apparently it’s available overseas too.

On the right is a cylindrical urinal with a Japanese feel, the kind you see in traditional Japanese restaurants and high-end Japanese food establishments.

I like this urinal because it doesn’t splash.

If all men’s urinals were made like this cylindrical one, water wouldn’t splash around.

From the left, there is a regular-sized toilet, a children’s toilet, and a toilet for sumo wrestlers!

Children’s toilets can be found in kindergartens and shopping malls.

Apparently there is a toilet for sumo wrestlers at the Ryogoku Kokugikan Sumo Hall.

Evolution of the “washstand”

This is a section showing the evolution of washbasins.

It’s fun to see lots of washbasins like those you see in old facilities!!

Evolution of the “Shower Head”

They have the latest “Air-in Shower” and “Comfort Wave Shower” and when you press the button, water actually comes out.

We have an air-in shower at home, and it feels great to be able to take a full shower even though it uses very little water.

TOTO’s latest products

This is the exhibition corner for TOTO’s latest products.

The space exudes a sense of luxury, and it’s hard to believe that this is a toilet exhibition!

The latest bathtubs and toilets are rounded and have no corners.

The soft feel is nice.

And above all, it’s stylish!

After learning about the history and evolution of toilets, when you come to the exhibition corner for these cutting-edge products, you’ll be amazed at how far toilets have evolved, as the gap between the past and the present is stark.

The toilets at the “TOTO Museum” are as expected! They’re modern and clean!

I absolutely had to stop by the TOTO Museum, where there were actually toilets that could be used.

As it is the TOTO Museum, expectations for the toilets are at their highest.

As expected, I felt uncomfortable taking a picture of a used toilet and publishing it, so I didn’t take any photos of the toilet itself, but as I expected, both the toilet and urinal were state-of-the-art!

The toilet used was the same one that was featured in the latest toilet exhibit earlier.

The washbasins are also state-of-the-art and super clean!

The toilet space itself was chic and cool, with a monkey figurine (from around 1965) on display inside, giving the toilet an art museum-like atmosphere!

Please stop by the toilets at the TOTO Museum.

Where are you from?

Visitors to the TOTO Museum are asked “Where are you from?” and are given the opportunity to place a sticker representing the place where they live.

Amazing! There are visitors from all over Japan!

Even more amazing is the world!

There are many from China, Korea and Southeast Asia, but also from Europe and America.

It’s amazing that they come from all over the world!!

As expected from the world-famous TOTO.

Conclusion

The TOTO Museum has detailed exhibits about the history of TOTO and toilets, and because toilets and baths are things that are so familiar to us, I’m sure adults will find it interesting and enjoyable !

It shows all the different toilets from the past and lets you know how much water they use by flushing them, so even small children can have fun with you !

The toilet bike is especially popular with children (maybe only boys?).

The exterior and interior are very beautiful and stylish, and it’s free, so it’s perfect for a family outing, especially on a rainy day .

We encourage everyone to visit the TOTO Museum!

I hope this information will be of some help to you when you go out.

See you soon!

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