Kick Off Your Shoes

家の中で靴を脱ぐ A phrase every Japanese mother has yelled at their kid at least one time, but it’s also something that many other people around the world say to their guests as they enter their homes. Normally, this is not such an issue. If the person you are visiting has this rule for their house, be accommodating, and remove your shoes. The problem arises when the reflection of the adopted culture is not as good as the culture of the home country. There is a reason beer is best at Oktoberfest in Germany, there is a reason steel drums sound better in Jamaica, and there is definitely a reason why people have no problems removing their shoes as they enter a Japanese house. Here in the States, if I enter a home during winter, and I am supposed to remove my shoes while the living arrangements in question is only a brisk 65°F, how am I supposed to leave later with blocks of ice on the ends of my legs. In Japan, most households have slippers for their guests in case of cold feet. Another issue is that many people claim they have adopted the no-shoes rule because they do not want the outside dirt brought into their house. They do not want all the soil, fecal matter, and other dander on the bottom of their guests’ shoes tracked onto their pristine floors. However, their houses are dirtier than any outside anywhere. I remove my shoes and my white socks get that odd eggshell-grey hue to them before I leave. Bleach will only go so far, and it can be used on certain floors. If you want me to remove my shoes, then take a page out of the no-shoes origin country and clean the hell out of your floors or else I will keep my shoes on just to avoid the potential Athlete’s Foot infection. The final issue is when I go to someone’s house and remove my shoes, there is no place to put them. Many Japanese homes have a shoe caddy to store shoes. If you are happy making a pile of shoes by the front door, then by all means, go for it, but I will apologize in advance that my kicks are too valuable to end up in a footwear mosh pit. Many people around the world have adopted this culture for one reason or another and I have no problem following the rules of a household, but maybe before you go all in on a certain tradition, study up on people who are better at it than you and copy them to the letter. But that is just one man’s opinion. Thanks for listening to me ramble. I appreciate it. See you next time.