TOKYO // Japan’s leading toilet giant opens a new museum this week dedicated to a century of lavatories, from its first water flushing model to the most cutting edge version with odour-neutralisers and variable water jets.
The museum operated by TOTO -- best known for its bidet-equipped Washlet series -- opens its doors on Friday in the southwestern city of Kitakyushu, where the company is based.
High-tech toilets, common in Japan, regularly win praise from foreign tourists and celebrities as the epitome of Japanese know-how -- a contraption that offers both comforting warmth and a frighteningly accurate bidet jet.
But the toilet firm said Thursday that it is reaching back into its past with a replica of its first water flushing toilet seat, which came onto the market in 1914.
There will also be remakes of washrooms that TOTO supplied to major buildings across Japan, including the State Guest House in downtown Tokyo, where foreign dignitaries stay, and those installed at a luxury hotel for the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Admission will be free, it said.
Nearly every household in Japan and many public restrooms are equipped with a seat that is plugged into the mains electricity.
At their most basic, they simply get warm and spray warm water for rinsing, while at the other end they boast motion sensors, high-power odour-neutralisers and variable water jets, all tailored to conserve energy and water.
The nation’s bidet seats have won the hearts of the rich and famous, including Madonna and Will Smith, who have both sung their praises.
The seats are also among the most popular items targeted by Chinese tourists, ranking alongside high-spec rice cookers and cosmetics.
* Agence France-Presse
if you go
Getting there
Etihad (Etihad.com), Emirates (emirates.com) and Air France (www.airfrance.com) fly to Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport, from Abu Dhabi and Dubai respectively. Return flights cost from around Dh3,785. It takes about 40 minutes to get from Paris to Compiègne by train, with return tickets costing €19. The Glade of the Armistice is 6.6km east of the railway station.
Staying there
On a handsome, tree-lined street near the Chateau’s park, La Parenthèse du Rond Royal (laparenthesedurondroyal.com) offers spacious b&b accommodation with thoughtful design touches. Lots of natural woods, old fashioned travelling trunks as decoration and multi-nozzle showers are part of the look, while there are free bikes for those who want to cycle to the glade. Prices start at €120 a night.
More information: musee-armistice-14-18.fr ; compiegne-tourisme.fr; uk.france.fr
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
