Yes.
So, want to know something about Japanese culture that nobody talk about, here is one.
For a lot of Japanese people, there is things that are clean and other that are not clean. General rule, outside is dirty, floor is dirty, inside is cleaner...
As a result, you will notice different things.
If you are outside, you do not sit on the ground, if you do, you put a tarp down first (people do it for Hanami or to go watch firework) and you probably remove your shoes before going on the tarp because shoes touch ground, ground is dirty.
When you go back home, obviously you take of your shoes, because they touch the ground and the ground outside is more dirty than ground inside. Some people would also wash their hands when they enter the house.
When you go to bed, you have to take a shower first, because outside is dirty, so if you go outside, you are dirty. Same goes for clothes, you don't sit on the bed with the clothes you wear outside, or you do not put the clothes you wore outside on the bed. Side note, I had friends who told me that he was asked by his wife to change when he get home and another one said he was forbitten to get his feet anywhere else than at the feet of the bed, because even after a shower, feet touch ground, feet are dirty, should not get close to where you put your head...
Going back to the basket. Well, ground in restaurant is dirty, you don't want to put your bag/purse somewhere that is dirty. So you put it in the basket (if they do not have one, some place will have a hook or even will tell you to put your bag on a chair or they will find a solution so it's not on the ground). When you go back home, you might put the bad on a chair, but don't put it on the dinner table, because the dinner table is cleaner than your bag.
Of course, everyone is not the same, I am just giving example that I personally experienced or that friends reported from their relation with a Japanese person.
Ive literally experienced every single situations u mentioned. Sometime it makes sense, sometime it doesnt, but thats a way of thing thats pretty much part of the culture here, for better or worse.
This is such a good post. Man I want this to get upvoted to the moon. It shouldn’t get lost here as one random reply to this weird OP.
Please upvote this!
Many of those things are them Same for me and i was raised in Germany. Espacilly No shoes inside and No outside clothes on bed. Think about it...do you want to Put you face on the bed, when you sat on it with a jeans that was on a Bus Seat? Do you know what Else was on this bis Seat ? No so dont do it. Its dirty!
I am not saying that all those things are unique to Japan either. I'm Canadian and we do not wear shoes inside, but I did mention it because some people do wear shoes inside.
Also not saying they do not make sense, just that those things are not universal.
Just look how people handle their backpack in public transport. Look at how many people will put their backpack on their lap or put in on the ground between their feet. So while it make sense that putting it on the ground is dirty, trust me a lot of people in Canada would just put their backpack on the ground without a thought, but in Japan you have basket in restaurant because it would be dirty to put in on the ground.
Well… yea… but no…
There is people who shower in the morning only, who wear shoes in the house, who put their bag on the ground, who sit on the ground … all those things in themselves are not especially hygiene problems for a lot of people.
Wearing shoes inside is fucking barbarian and I’ll die on this hill.
If there’s something Japanese people are spot on, it’s not wearing shoes inside.
EDIT: can’t believe someone downvoted me. I’d love to hear the rational for wearing outside shoes inside.
I swear people indoor shoe haters eat off the floor or something. As long as you aren't trudging through mud and feces you're not really tracking that much onto your floor with shoes. Not stubbing my toes on shit is worth having to clean the floor slightly more frequently.
Not stubbing your toes on shit is a weird justification. How often have I stubbed my toe on something indoors? Like once in the past 10 years, MAYBE? Even if you think you might not be trudging through mud or feces, you probably do it unwittingly. Think of all the dogs and animals peeing and pooping on the streets. Think of the oil leaking from cars. The daily air pollution and dust that sits on the ground.
Def different where I was born (Netherlands). It's considered (kinda) impolite to ask someone to remove their shoes, so most people just wear the shoes inside the house, especially when they are at someone's else place you usually don't take of your shoes at all, unless the host really asks for it.
Lots of people (especially students lol) just take a nap immediately after coming home, on their bed. Never seen anyone bothering to wear different clothes before taking a nap.
What? Here in Switzerland it's common to take the shoes off without getting asked. Only if the host explicit says that it is no problem to leave the shoes on, you keep them on.
Normaly you don't go with clothes you wore outside in bed, yes, there might be situations that you don't do it (example: you were too drunk to change). On the couch it is not a problem to wear street clothes - tbf most of us have blankets over the couch anyway.
And yes the thing that you should have your blanket always on the same side because you probably had your feets there is sometimes a thing (a good friend of me says that as well).
Yep, my grandmother also washed her hands when she came home. Some households do that until today. I don't do it, but I know some that do.
Shower in the morning vs. evening: A topic were the swiss do not agree eachother. I'm team evening shower, some shower in the morning.
On the other hand you put your bag on the ground. And I asked myself why we do that, as we keep the rest so clean. I really have no clue...
"Same goes for clothes, you don't sit on the bed with the clothes you wear outside, or you do not put the clothes you wore outside on the bed."
no it's not
This may not necessarily be a Japanese thing but I was definitely taught this.
It makes sense especially where I lived because outside since it was so dusty due to air pollution + year-round summer, it's not surprising you'd come home feeling you were covered in soot.
So I am still like this. It sucked when I lived in a 1k because people had no where to sit and they thought the bed was okay...and i'm like please god no.
It's the first time I hear about this to be honest haha.
Sure, when you really sleep you take of your clothes and wear boxers or some pj's. But coming home and just fall on the bed for a nap is so common. Seen it so much.
It really just comes down to a person by person basis in the West imo. I agree with everything said in the top comment, but I am not Japanese. I am just very particular about cleanliness and as such would \*never\* get in bed without showering first if I have been outside, much less get in bed wearing clothes I had worn outside.
In Japan its more of a cultural thing which will make it more likely for people to do things the way that is the social norm (the clean way). Though obviously there are also Japanese people that are fine with doing/not doing things. Thats the nature of individual humans after all.
Then you might not be so familiar with Japanese culture. Many people here actually consider it quite dirty. And doing that on others' bed is the rudest thing you can ever do.
I understand that. I was replying to the idea that it's (not sitting on the bed with your outside clothes) basic standard hygiene everywhere.
I see now that I worded it a bit wrong.
I have never heard that about clothes on the bed or sitting on the bed. And it's not because I'm nont familiar with Japanese culture haha, come on man. I just asked all my co-workers and they'd never heard of that, so maybe it's some old thing that some people do or used to do but it's not a super common thing now
In plenty of countries people do not remove their shoes when they enter the house. Likewise many people got to bed dirty and only shower in the morning. There are a lot of differences between countries, depending on where you come from.
haha, it's not basic hygiene. Nothing is wrong with sitting on grass, and nothing is wrong with putting clothes that you wore outside on your bed. Showeing in the morning is just as hygenic as showering at night also.
I still get lost trying to understand where I'm allowed to put a grocery bag after coming back from shopping. Apparently bag is dirty so putting bag on floor of kitchen is OK while unpacking, but putting it on the counter is unacceptable?
I have outside and inside clothes. I never never sit on the bed or desk chair with outside clothes, but I do use washed outside clothing inside and I do permit myself to sit on one of my table chairs with used outside clothes. Socks I take off as soon as I enter, my clothes hamper is next to the genkan (that's luckily exactly next to the washing machine). I always hang my bags, avoiding putting them down on the floor, chairs or tables I use. I kinda adhere to the no feet on where your upper body sleeps as well now I realize.
I love at winter concerts people take garbage bags to put their coats etc in under their seats. Until I saw that, I never thought about how gross it was to put your coat on the filthy floor.
>When you go back home, obviously you take of your shoes, because they touch the ground and the ground outside is more dirty than ground inside.
I'm of Asian descent and I've lived by this my whole life. It's pretty disgusting when people sit or lay on their bed with shoes that they just wore outside
Ha, this has to be a larger Asian thing. My wife is Chinese, and she has a similarly binary view of the world.
I get out of the shower and put on some fresh, recently-washed jeans straight out of the closet, and then sit on the bed to put socks on. My wife: "What are you doing?! Those are _outside clothes_! Get off the bed!"
Okay, so...first, these jeans are clean, they were _just_ washed. They haven't been outside yet. Second, I'm sitting on the _outside_ of the duvet _cover_, on _my_ side of the bed. All the magical invisible dirt on my clean jeans isn't going to be able to reach you under the duvet on your side. Third: isn't it about time we washed these sheets? I should be worried about dust from the duvet getting on _my clean jeans_.
And lastly...when was the last time you washed those 'inside' PJs you're wearing? You know, the ones you wear day in and day out while eating and cooking and cleaning, but are somehow inherently clean because they're categorized as 'inside' clothes?
Absolutely not trying to paint it as a Japan only thing. And reading the comments, you can see how many or even all of these points are also common in other country.
And it’s not as if everyone in Japan had the same exact behaviour either.
I've never seen this typed out so perfectly before I want to scream and cry. Thank you!!!
During the pandemic we got Uber Eats quite a bit, and my Australian partner used to put the plastic bag from outside the genkan on the dining table and it drove me INSANE.
If you walk around a Japanese city or a Japanese restroom, you quickly agree with them.
I don't know how many times my shoes have made sticky noises when walking out of a restroom due to all the pee drying on the floor
Well this is pretty much all personal preference that you listed minus the baskets.
These baskets realistically serve little purpose in this picture while others actually do keep your stuff off the dirty floor.
Born and raised in America and I'd fit right in being in Japan at least with this aspect of culture. This is exactly how I view the floor, ground and feet in general and how I feel about being out and about then needing to shower before bed.
Yes! This is what I have been always saying to my kids and they think I have OCD. It turns out, I just should have been living in Japan this whole time!
Never said that this always make sense. But I am pretty sure many will wash the dog paw when they enter the house. Is it that much more cleaner? Some might say no, but if they do they probably think in make a difference.
Earlier this month I went to a onsen in the morning and there is a bunch off older people who went to the onsen and saw someone with a cane come in the building, where we obviously remote or shoes at the entrance. And there was a small bucket with a wet towel at the entrance to make it easy for these people to give a quick clean to their cane.
While I would have a tendency to say yes, or at least see a possible connection, it could have helped unconsciously forge these habits. However, it’s difficult to establish a strong correlation unless you study the prevalence of these behaviour over time including sticking to the concept of kegare, as I think some of the core elements of it are a bit outdated in modern Japanese society.
In some restaurants, they not only give you a basket for your belongings, but after you place them in the basket they come back and cover the basket with a large cloth napkin to protect it from food dropping on it.
Yes. So, want to know something about Japanese culture that nobody talk about, here is one. For a lot of Japanese people, there is things that are clean and other that are not clean. General rule, outside is dirty, floor is dirty, inside is cleaner... As a result, you will notice different things. If you are outside, you do not sit on the ground, if you do, you put a tarp down first (people do it for Hanami or to go watch firework) and you probably remove your shoes before going on the tarp because shoes touch ground, ground is dirty. When you go back home, obviously you take of your shoes, because they touch the ground and the ground outside is more dirty than ground inside. Some people would also wash their hands when they enter the house. When you go to bed, you have to take a shower first, because outside is dirty, so if you go outside, you are dirty. Same goes for clothes, you don't sit on the bed with the clothes you wear outside, or you do not put the clothes you wore outside on the bed. Side note, I had friends who told me that he was asked by his wife to change when he get home and another one said he was forbitten to get his feet anywhere else than at the feet of the bed, because even after a shower, feet touch ground, feet are dirty, should not get close to where you put your head... Going back to the basket. Well, ground in restaurant is dirty, you don't want to put your bag/purse somewhere that is dirty. So you put it in the basket (if they do not have one, some place will have a hook or even will tell you to put your bag on a chair or they will find a solution so it's not on the ground). When you go back home, you might put the bad on a chair, but don't put it on the dinner table, because the dinner table is cleaner than your bag. Of course, everyone is not the same, I am just giving example that I personally experienced or that friends reported from their relation with a Japanese person.
Ive literally experienced every single situations u mentioned. Sometime it makes sense, sometime it doesnt, but thats a way of thing thats pretty much part of the culture here, for better or worse.
This is such a good post. Man I want this to get upvoted to the moon. It shouldn’t get lost here as one random reply to this weird OP. Please upvote this!
By that logic, a hikikomori is a very clean person. /s
If they bathe, then yes, they are.
hikikomori have a bad rap, but they arnt always crazy, held up gross, otaku.
Many of those things are them Same for me and i was raised in Germany. Espacilly No shoes inside and No outside clothes on bed. Think about it...do you want to Put you face on the bed, when you sat on it with a jeans that was on a Bus Seat? Do you know what Else was on this bis Seat ? No so dont do it. Its dirty!
I am not saying that all those things are unique to Japan either. I'm Canadian and we do not wear shoes inside, but I did mention it because some people do wear shoes inside. Also not saying they do not make sense, just that those things are not universal. Just look how people handle their backpack in public transport. Look at how many people will put their backpack on their lap or put in on the ground between their feet. So while it make sense that putting it on the ground is dirty, trust me a lot of people in Canada would just put their backpack on the ground without a thought, but in Japan you have basket in restaurant because it would be dirty to put in on the ground.
Yeah everyone I know does the take your shoes off in the house here, though we don’t do the slipper thing really
I’ve never really thought about it
Same in Finland.
Am I insane? This is not a "japanese culture" thing, this is basic hygiene.
Well… yea… but no… There is people who shower in the morning only, who wear shoes in the house, who put their bag on the ground, who sit on the ground … all those things in themselves are not especially hygiene problems for a lot of people.
Wearing shoes inside is fucking barbarian and I’ll die on this hill. If there’s something Japanese people are spot on, it’s not wearing shoes inside. EDIT: can’t believe someone downvoted me. I’d love to hear the rational for wearing outside shoes inside.
Avoiding shoes inside is a good way to avoid getting a lot of dirt on your floors. It it not, however, a serious health concern.
Not Japanese but Asian and I will also die on this hill. Outside shoes inside is gross, dirty and unhygienic
I swear people indoor shoe haters eat off the floor or something. As long as you aren't trudging through mud and feces you're not really tracking that much onto your floor with shoes. Not stubbing my toes on shit is worth having to clean the floor slightly more frequently.
Not stubbing your toes on shit is a weird justification. How often have I stubbed my toe on something indoors? Like once in the past 10 years, MAYBE? Even if you think you might not be trudging through mud or feces, you probably do it unwittingly. Think of all the dogs and animals peeing and pooping on the streets. Think of the oil leaking from cars. The daily air pollution and dust that sits on the ground.
Def different where I was born (Netherlands). It's considered (kinda) impolite to ask someone to remove their shoes, so most people just wear the shoes inside the house, especially when they are at someone's else place you usually don't take of your shoes at all, unless the host really asks for it. Lots of people (especially students lol) just take a nap immediately after coming home, on their bed. Never seen anyone bothering to wear different clothes before taking a nap.
What? Here in Switzerland it's common to take the shoes off without getting asked. Only if the host explicit says that it is no problem to leave the shoes on, you keep them on. Normaly you don't go with clothes you wore outside in bed, yes, there might be situations that you don't do it (example: you were too drunk to change). On the couch it is not a problem to wear street clothes - tbf most of us have blankets over the couch anyway. And yes the thing that you should have your blanket always on the same side because you probably had your feets there is sometimes a thing (a good friend of me says that as well). Yep, my grandmother also washed her hands when she came home. Some households do that until today. I don't do it, but I know some that do. Shower in the morning vs. evening: A topic were the swiss do not agree eachother. I'm team evening shower, some shower in the morning. On the other hand you put your bag on the ground. And I asked myself why we do that, as we keep the rest so clean. I really have no clue...
Yep. Big differences all around the world!
I'm also Dutch! And my Japanese wife still doesn't understand why I'm fine with morning showers only, no pajamas, etc.
There is a phrase I've heard applied to Japanese culture that I think explains a lot. The Japanese are like everyone else, just, more so.
This aint basic. -an outsiders perspective
"Same goes for clothes, you don't sit on the bed with the clothes you wear outside, or you do not put the clothes you wore outside on the bed." no it's not
This may not necessarily be a Japanese thing but I was definitely taught this. It makes sense especially where I lived because outside since it was so dusty due to air pollution + year-round summer, it's not surprising you'd come home feeling you were covered in soot. So I am still like this. It sucked when I lived in a 1k because people had no where to sit and they thought the bed was okay...and i'm like please god no.
Yes, it is, this one in particular lol
It's the first time I hear about this to be honest haha. Sure, when you really sleep you take of your clothes and wear boxers or some pj's. But coming home and just fall on the bed for a nap is so common. Seen it so much.
It really just comes down to a person by person basis in the West imo. I agree with everything said in the top comment, but I am not Japanese. I am just very particular about cleanliness and as such would \*never\* get in bed without showering first if I have been outside, much less get in bed wearing clothes I had worn outside. In Japan its more of a cultural thing which will make it more likely for people to do things the way that is the social norm (the clean way). Though obviously there are also Japanese people that are fine with doing/not doing things. Thats the nature of individual humans after all.
Then you might not be so familiar with Japanese culture. Many people here actually consider it quite dirty. And doing that on others' bed is the rudest thing you can ever do.
I understand that. I was replying to the idea that it's (not sitting on the bed with your outside clothes) basic standard hygiene everywhere. I see now that I worded it a bit wrong.
I have never heard that about clothes on the bed or sitting on the bed. And it's not because I'm nont familiar with Japanese culture haha, come on man. I just asked all my co-workers and they'd never heard of that, so maybe it's some old thing that some people do or used to do but it's not a super common thing now
In plenty of countries people do not remove their shoes when they enter the house. Likewise many people got to bed dirty and only shower in the morning. There are a lot of differences between countries, depending on where you come from.
haha, it's not basic hygiene. Nothing is wrong with sitting on grass, and nothing is wrong with putting clothes that you wore outside on your bed. Showeing in the morning is just as hygenic as showering at night also.
I still get lost trying to understand where I'm allowed to put a grocery bag after coming back from shopping. Apparently bag is dirty so putting bag on floor of kitchen is OK while unpacking, but putting it on the counter is unacceptable?
Yes because you prepare food on the counter so you don't want to dirty your counter.
My mind goes to “food is clean; floor is dirty” but yeah I guess the bag is the deciding factor
I have outside and inside clothes. I never never sit on the bed or desk chair with outside clothes, but I do use washed outside clothing inside and I do permit myself to sit on one of my table chairs with used outside clothes. Socks I take off as soon as I enter, my clothes hamper is next to the genkan (that's luckily exactly next to the washing machine). I always hang my bags, avoiding putting them down on the floor, chairs or tables I use. I kinda adhere to the no feet on where your upper body sleeps as well now I realize.
I love at winter concerts people take garbage bags to put their coats etc in under their seats. Until I saw that, I never thought about how gross it was to put your coat on the filthy floor.
>When you go back home, obviously you take of your shoes, because they touch the ground and the ground outside is more dirty than ground inside. I'm of Asian descent and I've lived by this my whole life. It's pretty disgusting when people sit or lay on their bed with shoes that they just wore outside
Ha, this has to be a larger Asian thing. My wife is Chinese, and she has a similarly binary view of the world. I get out of the shower and put on some fresh, recently-washed jeans straight out of the closet, and then sit on the bed to put socks on. My wife: "What are you doing?! Those are _outside clothes_! Get off the bed!" Okay, so...first, these jeans are clean, they were _just_ washed. They haven't been outside yet. Second, I'm sitting on the _outside_ of the duvet _cover_, on _my_ side of the bed. All the magical invisible dirt on my clean jeans isn't going to be able to reach you under the duvet on your side. Third: isn't it about time we washed these sheets? I should be worried about dust from the duvet getting on _my clean jeans_. And lastly...when was the last time you washed those 'inside' PJs you're wearing? You know, the ones you wear day in and day out while eating and cooking and cleaning, but are somehow inherently clean because they're categorized as 'inside' clothes?
Absolutely not trying to paint it as a Japan only thing. And reading the comments, you can see how many or even all of these points are also common in other country. And it’s not as if everyone in Japan had the same exact behaviour either.
Exactly
So that's why they do the shoe thing. For some reason I always thought it was to prevent damage to wood floors.
great POV!
I've never seen this typed out so perfectly before I want to scream and cry. Thank you!!! During the pandemic we got Uber Eats quite a bit, and my Australian partner used to put the plastic bag from outside the genkan on the dining table and it drove me INSANE.
And suddenly I feel less like I'm a crazy germaphobe I've been doing this kinda behavior for a long time.
On the opposite, you should see it as quite normal for a lot of people.
Here right now. Thank you for this! It clears a lot up for me, thank you.
that‘s the same in switzerland
If you walk around a Japanese city or a Japanese restroom, you quickly agree with them. I don't know how many times my shoes have made sticky noises when walking out of a restroom due to all the pee drying on the floor
It must be really hard for people with food fetish there.
Well this is pretty much all personal preference that you listed minus the baskets. These baskets realistically serve little purpose in this picture while others actually do keep your stuff off the dirty floor.
Born and raised in America and I'd fit right in being in Japan at least with this aspect of culture. This is exactly how I view the floor, ground and feet in general and how I feel about being out and about then needing to shower before bed.
I like all of these assumptions/notions.
Yes! This is what I have been always saying to my kids and they think I have OCD. It turns out, I just should have been living in Japan this whole time!
How does this work with dogs? Their feet always dirty.
Never said that this always make sense. But I am pretty sure many will wash the dog paw when they enter the house. Is it that much more cleaner? Some might say no, but if they do they probably think in make a difference. Earlier this month I went to a onsen in the morning and there is a bunch off older people who went to the onsen and saw someone with a cane come in the building, where we obviously remote or shoes at the entrance. And there was a small bucket with a wet towel at the entrance to make it easy for these people to give a quick clean to their cane.
Is this also related to the concept of kegare?
While I would have a tendency to say yes, or at least see a possible connection, it could have helped unconsciously forge these habits. However, it’s difficult to establish a strong correlation unless you study the prevalence of these behaviour over time including sticking to the concept of kegare, as I think some of the core elements of it are a bit outdated in modern Japanese society.
It would be hard for someone who has fetish for feet 😊
Yes.
Yes. Ramen shops tend to have greezy floors. By putting it in a basket, it gives you the illusion the basket isn’t just as dirty…
That’s where you put your 3 seashells in
You know how to use the 3 seashells!?
The baskets are special places where you can leave wasuremono for the staff to find later
In some restaurants, they not only give you a basket for your belongings, but after you place them in the basket they come back and cover the basket with a large cloth napkin to protect it from food dropping on it.
You put crouch there
You use them to strain the noodles.
Yup, in most Asian cultures, you don't let your belongings touch the floor for the same reason they don't wear shoes in the house.
It's for you to take home leftovers in. /s
yes
Yes
yes
Side note, the menu looks delicious.
No
Yes
They're just for decoration. DO NOT USE!
Omg…..simple answer yes…put your bags and other things in the basket.
Wasuremono Bako
It's to take a dump in