TOKYO — Between the futuristic "BladeRunner"-esque toilets and the slightly terrifying (but healthier for you)traditional squatters, Japanese restrooms can be a bit intimidating for afirst-time user. And even for those who have lived in Japan for a while, usinga public toilet can still be a daunting task. So to better understand restroom woes for those coming from overseas, Japanese toilet manufacturer Toto recently surveyed 600 foreigners living in Japan about toilets in the country and what confuses them most.

First up on Toto's toilet survey was aquestion about toilet choice. That is, if you were at a public restroom with Western-style (aka one you sit on) or traditional Japanese squat toilets, which stall would you go into? Unsurprisingly, over 80% answered that they preferred to sit rather than squat.The next question asked those surveyed to think back to when they first came to Japan and to remember the biggest problems they had when answering the call of nature in a public restroom. Mostpeople said that they had no idea how to use a Japanese squat toilet when theyfirst saw one. Even foreigners who came from countries with squat toilets werea little confused exactly how to use the Japanese ones. One of the Americanspolled said that he actually thought you were supposed to sit right on the toilet bowl.

When asked about if they use the bidet function on the modern Japanese toilets, the number one answer was that it dida good job of cleaning up and some said they even preferred the bidet to toilet paper. And for others, they liked to use the bidet because they were alreadyused to using water via the bum gun to clean themselves in their home country.