Inside the Toilet Museum

Japan's second toilet museum is the INAX Toilet Museum, which opened in April 2025, located less than an hour south of central Nagoya by train. The first toilet museum - the TOTO Museum in Kitakyushu - opened in 2015.

Located in Tokoname, about 30 minutes by train south of Nagoya and close to the Central Japan Airport (NGO), the Toilet Museum is part of the bigger INAX Museums facility that celebrates the history of INAX. In addition to the toilet museum, the two other museums on-site include a Tile Museum and a Terracotta Museum.

Here is a quick history of INAX. It was established as the Ina Seito ceramics company in 1924, manufacturing tiles, ceramic pipes and terracotta. Then, the company grew to include creating porcelain toilet bowls as sanitary hygiene standards evolved, and was later renamed INAX in 1985. INAX became part of the LIXIL group in 2011.

The compact, but well-done toilet museum invites visitors to explore Japan's toilet culture through several interesting exhibits, outlining the history of toilet culture and showcasing historical toilets from different eras. Bilingual descriptions explain historical and cultural toilet content, making it a worthwhile visit for those who are impressed by Japanese toilets.

Exterior of the INAX Museums. The grey building is where visitors can buy admission tickets and also houses a historical kiln that was used to manufacture ceramics
Augmented Reality (AR) displays to help visualize what the work was like back in the day
Exterior of the Toilet Museum building. The main exhibition area is on the second floor
The entirety of the interior of the Toilet Museum
A replica of a feudal period wooden toilet with a poop drawer
Porcelain toilet bowls through the ages
All the descriptions in the museum are bilingual. This one tells you in detail how Japan's famous toilet bidet was developed
Entrance to the Tile Museum
Really well done replicas of how tiles are used in the world
Tiles everywhere
Terracotta museum. The relief in the middle is a small section of Frank Lloyd Wright's work of the Imperial Hotel
Architectural ceramics in the terracotta form
Traditional Portugal decorative tiles by A Janela, which was displayed at the Portugal Pavilion at the 2025 Osaka Expo

Admission and hours

The INAX Museums facility is open from 10:00 to 17:00 (entry until 16:30), and closed on Wednesdays (open if Wednesday is a national holiday) and over the New Year holidays.

Admission to the INAX Museums costs 1000 yen, which includes entry to all museums, the toilet, tile and terracotta museums.

How to get there

Tokoname Station is the main transport hub in Tokoname City, where the INAX Museums facility is located.

From Nagoya Station, take the Meitetsu Railway in the direction of Central Japan Airport and get off at Tokoname (30-45 minutes, 750 yen one way, every 15 minutes). From the station, the museum can be reached in a 30 minute walk or in under 10 minutes by bus (230 yen one way, every 1-2 hours) or by taxi (around 1300 yen).

More Stories
Kyoto's movie set theme park reopens after major renewal
Plum blossoms in Mito
See All Stories