TOTO Museum

The TOTO Museum is one of Japan's most delightfully unexpected attractions, a free, beautifully designed museum devoted entirely to the history of sanitary ware and, above all, the toilet. It stands at the Kitakyushu headquarters of TOTO, the company founded here in 1917 that grew into the world's leading maker of bathroom fixtures and the creator of the Washlet, the electronic bidet-toilet that has become a symbol of Japanese comfort and hospitality. The museum opened in 2015 to mark the firm's near-century of history.

Housed in a striking modern building whose curved white form is said to evoke a water droplet, the museum traces the surprisingly rich story of the flush toilet in Japan. Displays follow the evolution from early imported Western fixtures and TOTO's first domestically produced flush toilet through decades of innovation to the high-tech Washlet, with its heated seats, warm-water cleansing and array of electronic functions. Historic ceramics, cutaway models and a gallery of the company's products over the years turn what might sound like a trivial subject into a genuine lesson in industrial design and changing daily life.

Part of the museum's charm is how seriously and elegantly it treats a topic most museums ignore, and international visitors in particular tend to leave both amused and impressed. The exhibits explain how Japan came to lead the world in bathroom technology, how hygiene and comfort ideals evolved, and how the humble toilet became an arena for remarkable engineering. There is even a display of the special toilets developed for tour buses and trains.

As a slice of modern Japanese culture, it is hard to beat: few things surprise first-time visitors to Japan more than the sophistication of its toilets, and this museum tells the story behind that reputation from the very place it began. The setting in industrial Kitakyushu also nods to the region's role as a cradle of Japanese manufacturing.

Admission is completely free, the museum is closed on Mondays, and about an hour is enough to enjoy the exhibits and the inevitable, irresistible gift shop, which sells toilet-themed novelties. It lies a short bus or taxi ride from Kokura Station, easily reached by shinkansen from Hakata. Quirky, free, air-conditioned and genuinely informative, the TOTO Museum is a perfect offbeat addition to any Fukuoka itinerary, and a guaranteed conversation piece back home.