Coming Soon: A Japanese Toilet Museum

Japan is home to some of the world’s most high-tech toilets and, in just a few days, it will also be the home of the world’s most high-tech toilet museum. The country has become famous in recent years for its range of sophisticated, temperature controlled, customizable toilet seats and bidets—many of which were made by one company, Japan’s leading toilet manufacturer TOTO.

According to Smithsonian, TOTO has been called “the Apple of toilet tech.” They’re also the ones operating the museum, which opens Friday in Kitakyushu. The TOTO Museum includes exhibits on the history of toilets, features toilets from around the world, and has its own library, fully equipped with toilet-related reading materials. Even the white, gently curved exterior of the museum looks a bit like a futuristic toilet.

The company itself is nearly a century old—it was founded in Japan in 1917—and has played an important role not only in developing toilet technology, but in Japanese culture in general. According to The Telegraph, the Japanese government even has plans to use TOTO's high-tech toilets as part of its tourism initiative, installing them in tourist facilities like airports, complete with instructional videos explaining how to use them.

[h/t Smithsonian]