Why does everyone make a big deal about taking shoes off in Japan

[DanielSheen]

I live in Canada. Everyone takes off their shoes off at the door. I always thought that was normal for every country. Its often mentioned that in "Japan they want you to take off shoes at the door". Its mentioned as if thats soooo weird.

Is there even a country where this is not custom? It seems strange to even think that somewhere out there someone would actually let someone walk around in shoes , getting floors all dirty.

[Nathan]

I've always been raised to remove my shoes indoors as well. Apparently not everyone does though. A discussion on the topic can be found here:

Why do some people wear shoes indoors? | Ask MetaFilter

[PockyMePink]

Here, at least with my family, we do what's most comfortable and convienent. If leaving our shoes on is comfortable, then we'll leave them on. If we're just walking in to get something, we leave them on. If we're curling up in bed to take a nap, or staying inside for a while, we take them off.

It's not really a big deal, but in Japan I think it's more enforced, where to walk into certain establishments (places that aren't homes, such as a workplace) you need to take off your shoes. Around here that's unheard of unless it's your own home, or you're staying a few hours at someone elses house.

[Jaydelart]

I agree. I'd never found it weird to take my shoes off before entering someone's place.

Most of my family is Asian, and I have lived mostly in suburban and rural areas, which may contribute somewhat to my case. However, I've also seen a few non-asian households practice removing their shoes before entering. And, in most cases, it was for purely logical reasons, like preserving the carpet or flooring.

On the other hand, I do think switching between slippers is a little weird. But that's a different story.

[darksyndrem]

I pretty much always have my shoes on inside. Though wearing just socks is comfortable, I just don't think about it.

[Norwegian86]

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?

[Jaydelart]

Originally Posted by Norwegian86

Am I wrong if I say that I think americans leave their shoes on?

It's kind of hard to summarize Americans as a single culture, but, yes, I guess they do generally leave their shoes on. Unless maybe they're Japanese-American or Norwegian-American, etc., etc.

[Norwegian86]

Originally Posted by Jaydelart

It's kind of hard to summarize Americans as a single culture, but, yes, I guess they do generally leave their shoes on. Unless maybe they're Japanese-American or Norwegian-American, etc., etc.

Thats true I also think thats mostly why the question "why do japanese people take their shoes of?" comes up. If it is normal for some americans to leave them on, they might wonder why others take them off

[Nyororin]

I think it`s because it is a firmly followed rule. You never, ever enter someone`s house with shoes on - no matter what the reason is. You will even hear stories of catching burglars because they took their shoes off at the door...
There is a specific dedicated area inside the door solely for this purpose.

For a while in my house in the US, we took our shoes off when coming in (mainly to avoid getting the carpet too dirty) - but it wasn`t an absolute rule. Friends who never took their shoes off, well, never took their shoes off. Someone coming to do work in the house would wipe their feet on the door mat, but not take their shoes off.

I don`t know how it is in Canada, but is it a 100% rule that no one EVER keeps their shoes on for any reason?

[robhol]

Originally Posted by Norwegian86

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?

Second this. I don't see the point in keeping shoes on inside the house. As Norwegian86 says, this seems to be the norm here. Public areas: shoes on, people's private homes: shoes off, and in fact I've yet to see an exception from this "rule".