Japanese culture has many ancient traditions. For example, when entering a Japanese home did you know that you are required to take off your shoes? In Japan culture plays an important part of everyday life, so it’s essential to show respect and always remove your footwear when entering houses in Japan. This means that slip-on or easy to remove shoes are a must.

Obviously, if you are wearing high lace up boots then it is going to get annoying real fast when you have to take them off every time you enter Japanese homes. It’s a good idea to purchase some new socks before your trip too and make sure to always wear clean, hole-free ones as you never know when you may need to take off your shoes. Some Japanese restaurants, temples and traditional hotels will also require that you remove your footwear too. The idea is to keep the dirt from the street outside and preserve the clean Japanese home decor. Most Japanese homes will also feature what is called ‘tatami’. This is the traditional straw matting that you may have visions of Japanese samurai sitting on. Walking on the Japanese tatami mats in anything more than socks is a definite no-no and you will quickly offend your host.

Japanese interiors may feature tatami prominently, however these days most houses in Japan only have one traditional style tatami room. It may be furnished with a sparse amount of Japanese furniture, while the rest of the house will often be of a Western feel. Even without the Japanese tatami room, most Japanese homes will feature a traditional part of Japanese decor called the ‘genkan’. Japanese interiors are usually raised higher, while the genkan will be lower so that you step up into the Japanese home.

Remove your shoes at the genkan and leave them there. There may be place to store them, or you may turn them around ready to step into when you leave and put them to the side out of the way. Or, you may even return to find that your host has neatly arranged them for you, a polite gesture in the culture of Japan. So remember to always where clean socks and remove your shoes when entering a Japanese home and pay respect to their Japanese traditions and culture.