A lot of rules regarding indoor manners in Japan are related to footwear. A simple line is traditionally drawn between inside and outside, and outdoor shoes and indoor slippers are handled accordingly.
These rules not only apply to most Japanese homes but also too many traditional ryokans, some restaurants, and the indoor sections of many temples, castles, and other historic buildings. Have you ever wondered why Japanese don’t wear shoes inside? Well, I did.
And it’s funny because I’ve always seen in anime people taking off their shoes all the time and I didn’t understand why they did it. I mean, it’s kind of normal to take your shoes at home, but in restaurants?
This is kind of new. So I started doing some research because, when you travel to Japan, you want to respect the culture and avoid some faux-pas with Japanese shoe etiquette.
I found that when you get the principle; it is easy to understand when you should take off your shoes or not. And also how to do it. Yes, there’s a specific way to take off your shoes in Japan, and you probably weren’t expecting that.
But we’re talking about Japan, and if they did things like everyone else, we wouldn’t be so fascinated about this amazing country. So why do the Japanese take off their shoes? The primary reason is cleanliness.
Traditionally, the Japanese ate meals sitting on tatami mats instead of chairs, and they rolled out the futon to sleep on tatami floors. As they are very close to the floor while eating or sleeping, it is not ok to bring the shoes into the house which would cause a dirty floor.
Seen this way, it seems logical to take off your shoes when you enter a house, but, as usual, things are not that simple in Japan. Yes, not only you have to take your shoes off, but you have to change into slippers.
And there are different slippers for different rooms, and rooms where even slippers can’t be used and you have to enter barefoot or with socks.
I guess you get the idea: it’s complicated! Now let me help you understand a little better how this shoe thing works so you won’t feel lost when you visit Japan.
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