A toilet seat museum is opening in Japan

Toto Ltd is opening a new museum dedicated to a century of lavatories

Japan's leading toilet manufacturer is opening a new museum dedicated to the evolution of the country's toilet seats, from classic styles to high-tech tools with air purifiers and auto cleaners.

Among the exhibits will be the company’s first toilet from 1914, as well as the latest models of the Washlet, one of Japan’s most popular toilets.

Toto Ltd, the country’s largest toilet seat manufacturer, said it will open the Museum on Friday in the southwestern city of Kitakyushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, where the company is based, the Japan Times reports.

The company that refers to itself as the 'Apple of toilet tech' will exhibit about 950 of its products including toilet seats and prefabricated bathrooms.

Items on display will also include remakes of washrooms Toto supplied to major building across Japan, including the State Guest House in Tokyo and those installed at a luxury hotel for the 1964 Summer Olympic Games.

But the museum’s ‘masterpiece’ will be the replica of the original flush toilet seat which Toto developed in 1914, according to a spokeswoman at the company.

Japanese toilets regularly win praise from foreign visitors and celebrities for their latest high-end models featuring built-in speakers, heated seats and lids that open automatically. The seats are also among the most popular items targeted by Chinese tourists, ranking alongside high-spec rice cookers and cosmetics.

Admission to the museum will be free.