I allways take my shoes off when i go inside my own or someone elses house. But this is usually what all norwegians do. We dont take off our shoes at work and things like that, but in homes we allways follow this kind of "rule". So it's not just japanese people who practice this
We dont have special slippers or anything like that tough. We do it so that the house we enter dosent get dirty
Am I wrong if I say that I think americans leave their shoes on?