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Everyday life · Culture · Manners in Japan

Shoes, slippers and visiting a home

In Japan, the floor indoors is kept clean, so street shoes stay at the door. You take your shoes off at the entrance (genkan), step up in your socks and use the slippers offered, except on tatami and in the toilet, where the rules are different.

Where
Homes, ryokan, many temples, schools and clinics
At the step
Shoes off, then turned to face the door
Toilets
Separate toilet slippers

Do

  • Take your shoes off at the genkan, at any step up, or where you see shoes or a shoe rack.
  • Wear clean socks without holes.
  • Step up facing forward, then turn and place your shoes to point toward the door.
  • Say ojama shimasu as you enter a home.

Avoid

  • Do not step onto the raised floor with outdoor shoes or with slippers you wore outside.
  • Do not wear slippers on tatami. Take them off and walk in socks.
  • Do not leave the toilet wearing the toilet slippers.

The genkan

The entrance area of a Japanese home or building, the genkan, sits slightly lower than the rest of the floor. Street shoes stay on the lower level. You step up onto the main floor, and shoes are kept on a rack (getabako) or lined up at the side.

Slip-on shoes make this easier. Step up with one foot at a time so your socks do not touch the lower floor.

Slippers, tatami and toilets

Hosts often offer slippers (surippa) to wear indoors on wooden or carpeted floors. Take them off before stepping onto tatami mats, which are damaged by hard soles, and walk on them in socks. Try not to step on the cloth borders of the mats.

The toilet has its own slippers, which stay inside it. Change into them when you go in, and change back when you leave. Wearing them out into the hallway is a classic mistake.

Visiting a home

Be on time. Arriving early can catch the host unprepared. Bring a small gift (temiyage), such as sweets or fruit, and offer it with both hands. Say ojama shimasu as you enter, and wait to be shown where to sit.

When you leave, thank the host and say ojama shimashita. A short message of thanks the next day is a nice touch.

Ryokan, temples and restaurants

At a ryokan you take your shoes off at the entrance and are given slippers, and you leave them off in your tatami room. In temple halls and some shrines, shoes come off before you go in, and a rack or bag is usually provided. Restaurants with raised tatami seating (zashiki) work the same way.

Good to know

  • Wear socks that are clean and in good shape, and bring slip-on shoes if you can.
  • If you are unsure, look at the floor: a step, a shoe rack, or other shoes at the door means shoes off.
  • Some temples and museums give you a bag for your shoes, so follow the signs.
  • Schools use indoor shoes (uwabaki) in the same way.

Words you will hear

玄関 genkan
entrance area
下駄箱 getabako
shoe rack
スリッパ surippa
slippers
お邪魔します ojama shimasu
said when entering a home
畳 tatami
straw floor mat
座敷 zashiki
raised tatami seating area

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See also

Next guide Trains, streets and public places

General practice in Japan. Check at ryokan and temples, where the rules can be stricter. Customs vary by region, place and family, and they change over time. When in doubt, follow the signs, watch what others do, or ask politely. Being polite and trying matters more than getting every detail right.